Spiral Dragon
by Greylle
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki makes a wish for the power he'll need. At which point he gets a whole new set of problems. Technically it fusions/crossovers with Umi No Misaki - though the current plan is to mainly keep the crossover elements from doing any major interactions. Oh, and Keri is from World of Warcraft's mileau.
1. Chapter 1: Enter the dragon?

**Spiral Dragon**

by Greylle

DISCLAIMER: Original series belong to someone else.  
>NOTE: The following is just an idea that came to me and started developing. Not sure how long i'll keep going on it.<p>

Spiral Dragon, part one. Wishing upon a dragon  
><p>

* * *

>Toltiir pondered as he watched Team 7 scurry on their D-Rank mission.<p>A tail whip-cracked, resetting events to "baseline." Which was why he'd adopted of the human adage to make backups and make backups often.<p>

Now, here was a good point. Team 7 was doing those silly little D-Rank missions. Which were supposed to build teamwork, which really was only emphasized during their genin days anyway. Just as often, it didn't do much expect provide busywork. Or at least that was Toltiir's view.

No, and maybe if he went at it like so.

* * *

><p>"Hurry it up, Naruto!" said Sakura, her voice slightly distorted by the communicators they wore.<p>

"Yeah, yeah, just a minute," said Naruto as he picked his way through the forest. "I am so sick of this."

"Not in position yet?" asked Kakashi over HIS communicator.

"Why do we need to be in position anyway?" asked Naruto. "We're searching for golf balls for crying out loud!"

"That," said Kakashi, "is a secret."

"It's probably a team-building exercise for coordinating against mobile targets, right Sasuke?" asked Sakura.

"Hnn."

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Hey I think I-" said Naruto just before the ground collapsed under him. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Kakashi frowned as he tapped his communicator. "Naruto, can you stop playing around. This is serious."

A minute went by. Then two.

"Found another golfball," said Sasuke, dropping it into the bag with the other ones. How the heck was he supposed to get strong doing this sort of thing?

"Honestly," said Sakura. "Naruto is SO immature. Unlike Sasuke!"

"Naruto?" asked Kakashi, then sighing after another minute went by without any answer. "I'll go look for him."

"If he managed to get himself killed on a golfball-hunting mission, I'll never speak to him again," promised Sakura, who then brightened at the possibility of being alone for long periods with Sasuke. She felt guilty about it as she made a quick prayer that Naruto had found a better life in the next world.

That flash of guilt didn't keep Sakura from hoping sincerely that Naruto was out of her life and a brief fantasy in which she and Sasuke got closer together with the tragedy of an MIA Naruto a shared experience.

* * *

><p>"!" managed Naruto as he turned in mid-air to see the distant dot of the hole he'd fallen down disappear in the distance.<p>

Finally he remembered his ninja tools, tied a length of cord to a grapple (taking three tries) and threw it off into the darkness. It made a clang as it hit rock somewhere out there.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah," cried out little twelve year old Naruto as he realized how far he'd fallen. It was hard to tell how fast he was going because all he could see was dark - but he'd been falling for a very long time now.

He was going to splat. He'd hit the ground and be smooshed into jelly. Now he'd never be Hokage. Never kiss Sakura. Never get anyone to like him. Dying in a dark hole where he'd never be found. Never eat ramen again.

"AHHHH! THIS !" screamed the falling genin.

_THWOP!_

Naruto blinked as he landed on something that seemed kind of hard but which gave way immediately, slowing him down.

"**Well well well. What do we have here?**"

Naruto gulped at that overly loud and overly deep voice. If a mountain could speak, he would expect it to have such a voice. A particularly large and nasty mountain. It was a very very scary voice.

"**Naruto Uzumaki. Genin of the Leaf Village. Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.**"

"Y-y-y-y-y-you know me?" asked Naruto, hoping this wasn't someone he'd pranked.

Flames shot out, briefly illuminating the cavern.

Naruto couldn't possibly be any more quiet or still than he was at that moment, having seen way too much. If his muscles hadn't completely frozen, he might have wet himself right there.

His 'landing pad' was the forepaw of a dragon. A dragon who was at least as big as his village. Just the forepaw/claw/hand was bigger than his apartment building. Said dragon had just jetted flames out of his mouth. Had those flames hit HIM, Naruto knew with absolute certainty that he'd be ash blowing on the wind.

"**Now what to do with you,**" mused the dragon in the darkness now that the flames had died out.

Naruto imagined his death in several grisly manners, each one more nasty than the last. Considering the first one involved being eaten and his ninja headband popping out later after the dragon got a toothpick - that was pretty bad.

"**Don't be a fool, child. I don't eat sentient beings. It's bad karma.**"

"That's... good, right?" asked Naruto as he tried to get his shaking under control.

"**Even as pathetic and tiny as you are, the least ninja of your class, whose team mate even now prays for your death, killing you was not my plan - else I would not have stopped your fall as I did.**"

"Uhm, right," said Naruto, realizing that he was shaking twice as hard now that he'd relaxed just a little bit. "Sasuke's praying for my death?"

"**No. Sakura Haruno.**"

"Eh?" asked Naruto.

"**Child. I'm able to read minds. Now that you've awoken me, I have no reason to lie to you. Rather, I owe you a favor.**"

"Eh?" asked Naruto, suddenly getting a glimpse inside Sakura's head and FEELING the contempt she had for him. She was... wishing he was dead so she could get closer to Sasuke? Did his life utterly SUCK or what?

"Speak, child. Three wishes shall I give you. If it is in my vast power to grant, I shall do so."

"Can you get me out of here?" asked Naruto.

"**Is that your only wish then?**"

"Wish? Like you can give me anything?" asked Naruto, tiny glimmer of hope popping up through the dark.

"**Don't waste my time, child. Freedom beckons me.**"

"Okay," said Naruto, screwing up his courage. "I wish I had some awesome jutsu that would let me get out of stuff like this."

"**Hmmm. Flight or teleportation? Hmmm. Maybe a walk through solid objects? Hmmm. Okay.**"

The dragon's eyes flashed red, illuminating Naruto briefly.

"What was that?" asked Naruto, a little nervously.

"**Just prepping for that wish,**" explained the dragon, its deep voice causing rocks to slide off somewhere in the distance. "**Your second wish?**"

"I don't feel any different," noted Naruto.

"**I haven't granted the wish yet, child. After you've made all three, it may be possible to combine them all in one event.**"

"Okay," said Naruto. "Hey, if you can do stuff like this, why can't you just escape?"

"**My word was given that I would not escape until I was freed,**" answered the dragon. "**Your arrival, unintended as it was, managed to do that.**"

"Oh," said Naruto, nodding at that. Giving one's word was important. "Well... are you sure Sakura doesn't like me?" Maybe he'd imagined that earlier?

The dragon simply linked the bit about Sakura fantasizing about Naruto being dead, yes - STILL, and her getting closer to Sasuke as a result into Naruto's head.

"Oh," said Naruto. "Could you make her a little friendlier?"

"**Child, if you wished it, I could have her and most of the kunoichi of your village trying to cuddle you or bed you or both. If you made it one of your two remaining wishes, I could have it so that she never looked at Sasuke Uchiha in such a way. I could make her your tsundere sister, your best friend since starting the Academy, or your pet. Is that what you want?**"

"Uhhhhhh," said Naruto, suddenly picturing those possibilities. Suddenly he DID want something like that. No. It wouldn't be right to do it that way. Though the brief imagination of Sakura smiling at HIM as his best friend DID have a powerful appeal to him.

The dragon sighed and settled down. "**Your strength is sub-par. Your chakra control terrible. You have high levels of chakra but as your control is so poor - you can't always draw enough of it do anything and sometimes you overload your jutsu. You are not particularly intelligent, and your skills as a ninja are mostly lacking. Does any of this help?**"

"Damn Sasuke," muttered Naruto.

"**Do you want him to suffer then?**"

"No," said Naruto after a long pause in which he considered being able to lord it over a broken and beaten Sasuke.

"**Hmmm. He's your rival then,**" said the dragon. "**He has a formidable advantage. With that Sharingan, he can steal any technique you work out unless it were a kekkei genkai, a summoning contract, or requiring specialized training. Though the last two he might be able to acquire something similar with work on his part.**"

"A wha?" asked Naruto.

"**Kekkei genkai. Bloodline ability. A talent only you and those descended from you have. He's not the only one you know who has such talents.**"

"Who else?" asked Naruto.

Images appeared of several classmates.

"They've all got this 'khaki' stuff?" asked Naruto.

"**Yes. Some have specialized training and techniques that they are able to use to greater effect than those who haven't been breeding for that purpose. Not a true kekkei genkai, but getting there within a few more generations.**"

"So," said Naruto, thinking if they had one - it really wasn't fair that HE shouldn't have one. "Can I get one?"

"**An 'awesome' kekkei genkai that Sasuke couldn't steal? Hmmm. Might be able to work that into the first wish as well,**" indicated the dragon.

"Okayyyy. When you get loose, you're not going to destroy the village or something, are you?" asked Naruto.

"**Not unless that's your third wish,**" replied the dragon. "**Is it?**"

"NO!" Naruto was quick to shout. "Why do all the girls like Sasuke so much and not me?"

"**I'll look into a few minds. Hmmmm. You act like an idiot and immature. Whereas Sasuke mostly keeps his mouth shut, manages to give a brooding but mature air. Though it seems that not ALL the girls like Sasuke.**"

"Well," reasoned Naruto. "None of them like me."

"**Incorrect.**"

"Eh?" asked Naruto.

"**There is one girl who likes you. Even now she thinks fondly of you and wonders how you are doing with your new team.**"

"Yeah, right, that couldn't be," began Naruto.

Letting out a sigh that echoed through the cavern, the dragon (who was actually Toltiir playing out a part in an improvised drama) decided to just SHOW the boy.

* * *

><p><em>Late afternoon, two years previous:<em>

There he was. Sitting there on the swing near the Academy. A swing that nobody else used.

Her heart went out to him. How she longed to go over there and speak to him. If only she could.

Everyone spoke so poorly of him. They shunned him. They saw the village pariah or the dunce or the clown. They didn't see HIM. They didn't see the confidence or inner strength, they didn't see the drive or the kind heart or his inventiveness.

No, they saw something else. She knew though. She saw him - Naruto Uzumaki.

All the other girls saw Sasuke Uchiha as attractive and cool and strong and desirable. She didn't. He brooded and sulked. He had great anger built up within him like some dam holding back floodwaters. He was the last of his clan, but she was of a highly respected (though not loved) clan of Konohagakure and wouldn't respect someone solely for that.

Then there was what they did apart from training and school. Naruto gardened. He tried to care for animals, but most of them sensed something dark and dangerous about him and they too shunned him. Plants though - he kept a few hidden away. He cared for them, talked to them, made them grow strong and tall.

If only she could approach him, but she was so weak and worthless. Her family wouldn't appreciate her making a friend like him even if he didn't reject her. It would just be more trouble for him.

If only she had the courage to take that small step. To go forward just a little bit, to tell him that it was alright. That she believed in him.

If only...

* * *

><p>"Whoa," said Naruto.<p>

"**Going through her memories, there were exactly eleven such instances where she almost made that step. Twice she succeeded but was unable to bring herself to get your attention while it was focussed elsewhere.**"

"Somebody likes and believes in me?" asked Naruto in an awestruck voice. Then he wiped his eyes. "Damn dust in this cavern."

"**Of course,**" replied the dragon. You didn't need exceptional powers to see a certain hyperactive knucklehead approaching a shy heiress in the near future. Not that he'd necessarily get anywhere with her. That had happened in other continuities after all, and there were some intriguing possibilities to explore here.

"Why was she going on about being 'weak'?" asked Naruto.

"**She's been told for years that she's weak, unworthy, hopeless. Mostly by her own family. She sees you as being driven to succeed despite your flaws and faults, and that is what attracts her to you initially.**"

"Her own family?" asked Naruto, clutching one fist in order to righteously declare. "Well, I'll have to change their minds!"

"**To defend against the entire Hyuga clan would certainly require great power,**" mused the dragon. "**Either that or an absolute defense that would protect you from their sight. Hmmm. Is that your third wish?**"

"Eh?" asked Naruto, remembering the dragon's assessment of his skills earlier. But really, being weak compared to a dragon? He'd certainly heard enough about his lack of smarts from the Academy - and both Sakura and Sasuke would remind him of that too.

Come to think of it, hadn't he heard ALL of those comments at one time or another?

If he got a wish, wasn't this the time to address that?

"Yeah, I wish I was strong enough to fight her entire clan if I had to, smart enough to figure out how to do what I got to do, and had chakra control better than Sakura! (See how SHE likes being Dead Last!) AND that I had some ninja skills that were downright awesome! Can you do that?"

"**Your wishes were heard. I'm now working out how to grant them,**" said the thoughtful-seeming dragon. "**The ability to escape this prison, a powerful kekkei genkai that Sasuke Uchiha or other Sharingan users cannot copy, and the means to defeat an entire elite clan of ninja. Interesting. For a mortal who hasn't lived to see thirteen summers, you intrigue me, child.**"

"Oh?" asked Naruto, peering into the darkness.

**Here.**

"What's here? I can't see anything you know."

**Granting all three wishes in a tidy package. Fare thee well, Naruto Uzumaki.**

"Huh? Hey wait, I still can't see nothing!"

* * *

><p>Kakashi Hatake looked down the hole. Pakkun looked down the hole.<p>

"Yeah, he went down here," said Pakkun. "I ain't going down though."

Kakashi picked up a rock, held it over the hole, then listened. Then he fumbled in his belt, snapped a chemilight, then dropped THAT.

"I can tell you that goes down pretty damn far," offered Pakkun. "And smells of old musty reptile for some reason."

"Well, great, Naruto's dead," griped Kakashi as he saw the glowing chemical stick disappear in the distance. "On a golfball collecting mission. Now I've got to break the news to the rest of the team. Sasuke will be mad."

"Well, the loss of a team-mate is always hard," said Pakkun philosophically.

"No, it means we get a fail for the mission on his permanent record," said Kakashi.

Kakashi turned away from the hole to go see to those tasks, which meant he missed it when Naruto left his "grave."

* * *

>Naruto switched, finding the little mental switch to do so.<p>Suddenly the darkness wasn't all-encompassing. He was in a huge cavern, and there was writing on all the walls. Unfortunately he couldn't read the writing as it was apparently written in Dragonese and he hadn't assimilated to that degree yet.<p>

Naruto blinked and cocked his head to the side. How did he know that? How did he know this stuff was written in Dragonese? How did he know that he could fly, had a 'breath weapon', a lifespan that could be measured in millenia, was stronger and tougher and more intelligent, and that by switching into his dragon form he might get severely injured in the process - but he could flatten the Hyuga compound and make Hinata an orphan without any family at all.

Hmmm. Have to use his Fabricate spell, make this a lair now that it wasn't a prison anymore. Besides the big dragon only was kept here by his word, and Naruto wasn't planning on swearing any oaths to be a prisoner.

Wait a minute, he had a Fabricate spell?

THAT could be freaking handy.

Naruto curled his tail underneath him, squatted, and summoned his magic. Then he leapt straight up, his wings held tight against his body lest they snag on the passage.

Once clear, he could fly in earnest. He felt the air cupped by his wings as he climbed to a high altitude.

Naruto grinned at the sight of the village beneath him, then had a thought and just glided to a landing where he could switch back. Boy, wasn't Konoha in for a surprise?

He knew that he'd been rewritten and that he was now a dragon. Not simply a large lizard, but an Adamantite Dragon.

If one looked at him, using his innate _Polymorph_ to duplicate his human form, one would simply see Naruto Uzumaki the way he'd always been. More or less.

Using the Sharingan would not reveal anything particularly amiss either.

The Byakugan, on the other hand, would reveal some pretty darn powerful chakra flows. Hints of something else would be revealed.

Someone familiar with draconology would be able to identify him as a Celestial Adamantine Dragon, or at least a subspecies of the same. A form of dragon known for their extremely high strength, particularly tough hide, and the ability to blast things with a form of celestial fire. That he could use innate spells to Fabricate, Enlarge, Reduce, or Mend. Oh, and that his diet could pretty much include Animal and Vegetable and Mineral in varying balances.

He plucked at his clothing, frowned, and made a gesture. His clothing shifted - becoming ripped and torn and scuffed up. Giving him the opportunity to wear a different outfit after he'd let people see him wearing it. Now he just had to put on an act like everything was normal, up until he was ready to surprise certain people.

Hmmm. Scrolls. That would be a good cover. Fortunately, with his Fabricate spell - he could make them.

Thinking about it, Naruto decided the first order of business would be letting the Hokage know. Old Man had been pretty cool with him so far, and now he was going to be in on the biggest prank Naruto had ever pulled.

* * *

><p>"I see, a 'kekkei genkai'?" asked the Hokage. "Interesting."<p>

"Apparently," said Naruto. "I'm gonna keep it secret for now though."

"Why? I'd have thought you'd immediately brag about it," said the Hokage.

"Yeah, well, think about how it'll look when the 'dead last' turns out to be able to pull something like THIS out," said Naruto.

"Hmmm, yes I see," said the Hokage with a nod. As a prank, it would be amusing. The question was whether Naruto could restrain himself enough to manage it. "Yes, I can specify that area as your property - so long as it is unchanged on the surface. Underground chambers - I'd want to take a look at it myself but I don't see any particular problem."

"Okay," said Naruto.

"I'm also going to summon a seal expert to look over the Kyubi's prison, just in case there were any problems in that regard," said the Hokage thoughtfully.

"Okay," said Naruto, frowning thoughtfully. "One other thing, Jii-san. I just found out about some girl who might like me."

"If you're talking about Sakura Haruno, I don't think you're correct," said the Hokage.

Naruto shook his head once. "No. What can you tell me about the Hyuga clan?"

* * *

><p>"Naruto's dead?" asked Sasuke. "On a D-Rank mission? To collect golf balls?"<p>

"He fell in a hole," said Kakashi. "A really deep one."

Sasuke considered the klutz who got dragged around by a large dog while on a dog-walking mission, who got clawed and bitten by Tora on a cat-finding mission, who tripped over a can of paint on a fence-painting mission, fell in the river on a riverbank cleaning mission, slipped in dog crap on a kennel-cleaning mission. "In a way, I envy him. He doesn't have to go on more of these lame missions. What's tomorrow going to involve? Potato-peeling?"

Kakashi cocked his head at Sasuke. "No remorse for a fallen comrade?"

"My life has been filled to overflowing with the deaths of people I once knew," said Sasuke. "He is just one more."

"So, will we be getting a replacement for Naruto?" asked Sakura, deciding to move forward rather than let the guilt about wishing for Naruto's death overwhelm her.

"I don't know," admitted Kakashi. "Team 7 might be disbanded. Or we might get a replacement. Or we might just be stuck with D-Rank missions until we can get a third genin. That decision will be up to the Hokage after I make a report."

* * *

><p>Toltiir smirked. One of the reasons he liked the cat-form was that cats had a natural smirk they were pretty good at. He clicked a display to bring up stats.<p>

In human form:  
><strong>Ninjutsu:<strong>2, **Taijutsu:**1.5, **Genjutsu**1, **Intelligence:**5, **Strength:**24, **Speed:**2, **Stamina:**9, **Hand Seals:**1.

Of course, with the size and mass of his dragon form - his stamina and strength in that form would be even greater.

That the human scale only went up to 5 wasn't a consideration. Naruto wasn't human anymore, just taking that shape. He wasn't able to lift the Hokage Monument, but he'd be able to lift buildings if he could get leverage and the building didn't collapse around him.

Toltiir leaned forward eagerly as Naruto walked back to his team.

* * *

><p>Naruto was feeling a bit "up" at the moment.<p>

He'd met a particularly large and powerful dragon. Which, to his mind, qualified as cool. Particularly when meeting such dragon didn't involve meeting a quick death.

Two, he'd learned that someone LIKED him. Someone wanted to be his friend. Okay, she was a weird girl with weird eyes. That wasn't so bad, was it?

Three, he'd just taken the Hokage to the cavern and switched to his new real form. That of a dragon. A fifty-five foot long, ninety ton, winged and fanged and clawed, hyper-flame breathing, armored engine of destruction and sheer awesomeness.

Naruto liked being awesome. He thought it looked DAMN good on him.

The Third Hokage had looked him over, patted Naruto on the foreclaw, and said that maybe he ought to hold that back for times when he really needed it. The Hokage had further said that he'd simply put out the information that a genin now had a summons for a big dragon but would seal the details until an appropriate time. That way if Naruto DID transform, a full mobilization of forces attacking said dragon might be avoided. Naruto agreed with that, as having lots of ninja attacking him would be a pain in one manner or another.

He spotted the team and tried to wipe the broad smile off his face, only succeeding in shrinking it down to a smirk.

"Hey guys," said Naruto.

Shock and surprise greeted him, along with a momentary silence before Sakura ran forward with one fist chambered.

"Naruto!" growled Sakura as she swung, "How could you ma-"

_CRACK!_

Sakura came to a wide tearful-eyed halt, her fist still resting along Naruto's jawline. "-make us worry like that," finished Sakura in a much quieter and more pained voice.

"Uhm, I had to talk to the Hokage," said Naruto. "My bloodline activated."

Sakura whimpered as she clutched her arm.

Kakashi quickly stepped next to the girl and brought the offending limb where he could look at it. When he touched her hand, there was a muffled scream from the girl in question. "Broken. Come on, let's get you to the infirmary. Just great, more paperwork."

"YOU have a bloodline?" asked Sasuke of Naruto, disbelief evident.

"Yeah, that's what they tell me," said Naruto, a little concerned for Sakura at this point. "I'm stronger and a lot harder to hurt."

Sakura said something involving that she'd noticed and that Naruto should have given some warning. Interspersed with a few obscenities.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, making a mental note of certain phrases. Depths to Sakura he hadn't known about. She reminded him briefly of his mother. Who had been known to turn the air blue on a few occasions.

"Stronger?" asked Kakashi.

Naruto used one finger, slapping it down on the rim of a trashcan. Leaving behind a noticeable dent in the metal.

"Infirmary first," said Kakashi. "Then we'll test out Naruto's theory about a bloodline."

* * *

>Kakashi Hatake often played the fool. He wasn't. When Naruto came back, he'd noticed several things "off" about his genin.<p>Naruto often covered deep insecurities with bravado, his loneliness with loud, his emotional fragility with a mask of stupid enthusiasm. He might not have worked with Naruto for long, but he'd noted that much. Though there were times when Naruto would be surprisingly insightful, Kakashi was used to seeing the "dead last" of the Academy being a clown and buffoon who'd try to rival with Sasuke.<p>

His stance and manner were completely off from earlier that day. Admittedly, if he HAD gotten a bloodline ability - that might have boosted his real self-image and confidence to change that facade into reality.

He'd have to check with the Hokage as Naruto had mentioned discussing it with the old man. Now though, he'd have to see what he could see.

When Sasuke and Naruto were distracted as they started to spar, Kakashi adjusted his headband and studied Naruto with his Sharingan for a few seconds.

If it had been a simple henge or illusion, Kakashi knew he would have seen it immediately using the Sharingan. No such thing, but something was even more off about Naruto.

Sasuke started out openly scornful of sparring with Naruto. That changed quickly as Naruto blocked Sasuke's most powerful kick. Judging from Sasuke's reaction, it had been like hitting a reinforced wall.

Sasuke then used a Replacement jutsu to avoid being hit by Naruto's followup punch. The log... well, it didn't look very log-like after Naruto connected with it. More like a flying cloud of splinters and otherwise unconnected chunks of wood.

"Naruto!" chided Kakashi. "This is a friendly spar."

"Sorry, Kakashi-sensei," responded Naruto as he dodged Sasuke's attack. "I just got the strength and stuff, guess I don't control it all that well."

"I see," said Kakashi. Judging from Sasuke's expression, he understood that as well and had just shifted to a 'dodge like your life depended on it' strategy. "Okay, stop. I'll have to think about this."

Sasuke was breathing hard. Naruto was quite obviously not.

"Uhm, Kakashi-sensei," began Naruto, looking very uncertain. "You've... I mean... I need some advice."

"Oh?" asked Kakashi. Naruto was quite nervous about this? "I'm not going to teach any new jutsu until you master the ones you already have."

"Errr, ehm, that's not it," said Naruto nervously. "It's kinda not related to that so much. But you are my sensei and all."

Sasuke glanced at Naruto, also not used to seeing Naruto acting bashful.

"I just heard that some girl might... actually kind of... like me," began Naruto.

Kakashi twitched, his visible eye widening.

Sasuke snorted. A girl might like NARUTO? World was coming to an end, sign of the Apocolypse.

"I really don't think Sakura likes you," said Kakashi.

"At all," added Sasuke.

"More like tolerate you with a side order of contempt," added Kakashi.

"He's being generous," said Sasuke.

"Not her," growled Naruto at this tag-team approach. "I was asking Kakashi-sensei, teme."

"So this hypothetical girl, is she bigger than a breadbox?" asked Kakashi.

"Yeah, she's just under my height I guess," said Naruto, wondering what a breadbox was and how that entered into any sort of consideration on the problem.

"So you're not dating your Centerfold Jutsu?" asked Sasuke.

"NO!" responded Naruto, glaring at Sasuke. Shouldn't he be going off and brooding?

"So what's the problem?" asked Kakashi.

Naruto left off glaring at Sasuke as something he could do later. "I kinda know I just annoy Sakura, so I want to say hello and not screw up. How do I let her know she can talk to me, cause she's always going off and hiding and stuff."

"You're serious?" asked Kakashi. Twelve years old and already asking for dating advice. "She's shy?"

"Uh yeah, I guess so," said Naruto.

"I wish some of those fangirls were shy," mumbled Sasuke, not appreciating the way some of them launched themselves at him.

"So whatta I do?" asked Naruto.

"Hmmmm," hmmmed Kakashi. "I wonder."

"You don't know either, do you?" asked Naruto after a minute had passed.

"No, not so much," said Kakashi, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Great," said Naruto. "See you tomorrow, teme."

"Where are you going?" asked Sasuke.

"Going to try and say hello without screwing things up," said Naruto by reply.

Sasuke waited until Naruto had walked out of sight before smirking and starting forward himself. Someone else had girl problems. This might be amusing.

* * *

>Toltiir sat back, indulged in a little kiwi jello, and watched the show. Comedy elements were inserted, but he'd made Naruto considerably more badass. Badass wasn't funny in itself per se, but increased Naruto's chances of survival. Toltiir also understood, and had manipulated things, so that the positions of 'Comic Relief Sidekick' and 'Comic Relief Rival' had plenty of potential applicants.<p>First though, one had to demonstrate something of the changes in the main character that would then cause potential applicants for those two positions to occur.<p>

Oh, and that group there. They would do nicely for additional complications in Naruto's life.

* * *

><p>Kurenai Yuhi was a jonin and quite experienced, therefore she knew there was a problem a few moments before the attack came. She immediately began a genjutsu, fading from view.<p>

Unfortunately, the intruders weren't slouches either.

"Psychic Jar," called out an attacker as he leapt into the training ground, pointing a jar in the direction of the scarlet-eyed jonin. A mist erupted from Kurenai and began streaming into the jar.

"Kurenai-sensei!" yelped Kiba, rushing forward to engage the enemy.

"Cloudkill," said another attacker, sending a cloud of violet smoke forth from his hands to target the cloud of insects and two of the genin.

"I- I won't let you," began Hinata.

A third attacker appeared behind her and simply slapped a helmet down on top of her head.

The mists abated after a moment, and the first attacker sealed the jar he held as Kurenai's body toppled to the ground.

"I guess the Leaf is as weak as we'd heard after all," said the first attacker.

"Don't bother fighting it," said the third attacker to Hinata. "The helmet there is a chakra-disruptor. It locks your Byakugan and drains off chakra. You can't speak, you can barely move, and whoa."

The first smiled at the girl's attempts to fight back. "That she can still try to fight says you're not as pathetic as we heard. Jimo - just go ahead and tie her up. We'll haul her back."

"Why not just pluck her eyes out?" asked Jimo, the third assailant.

"We can do that later, but she's worth more as breeding material," said the first assaulter. "We... did it just get a lot warmer somehow?"

"Did it just get darker?" asked the second assailant.

"Please tell me that's a genjutsu," said Jimo, glancing up to see what was causing that shadow and not liking what he was seeing.

The first assailant opened the jar again, letting the mists within out as he targetted the new attacker. "Psychic Jar!"

_FWOOM!_ The sudden burst of purple-red flames lit up a roughly five-foot wide circle where the first assailant had been.

"Oh shi-" began the second assailant before a large paw with many large claws slammed down on him while he was still going through hand seals.

Jimo decided another strategy was better. He tossed a kunai with an explosive note at the struggling jonin, then turned and ran.

* * *

><p>Kurenai Yuhi saw most of it. The 'Magic Jar' jutsu sucked her spirit out of her body and into a prepared jar. She saw the initial attack, the siphoning, the members of her team going down. Then she was in the jar, then she could see again once released. Things turned fuzzy for a few moments when mind and body reconnected.<p>

So she saw the kunai heading her way, the sizzling of the tag on it as it made the trip.

She saw the dragon slap it down, cover it with a paw, and the brief flash of an explosion underneath that paw. Which apparently just stung a little from the reaction.

The dragon sniffed at her, turned its attention to the direction the foreign-nin had gone, and readied itself for running. No, not running. The wings half-furled out and tensed.

"Wait," croaked Kurenai. To her surprise, the dragon did, turning blue eyes to regard her. "I'm coming with you."

The dragon regarded her for a moment, then nodded and lowered his neck.

The creature was easily ten times her length, covered in scales that more resembled plates of some dark-metal armor. She managed to get her legs around its neck, then tapped once with her foot to indicate that she was settled in place about as well as she could.

With a snort, the dragon then lifted up into the air and started moving forward.

Kurenai considered the actions of the dragon. The dragon had followed her orders, and had killed two of the three apparently jonin-level assailants.

Unfortunately, the last remaining nin seemed to have fled. After several minutes of search, Kurenai decided something else.

Kurenai Yuhi was quite clever: able to analyze situations, keep track of details, and adapt on the fly to changing situations. Such were the traits that made for a genjutsu specialist.

As she directed the dragon, it made an occasional noise that to her ear sounded like a query.

"Because if you perform a spiral search pattern instead of just heading in a single direction, you're more likely to find a target that has switched direction."

So, when confronted with such, she answered as she would to one of her genin. Calmly explaining the reasoning behind the order if there was time.

"No, we might as well go back. We need to notify the Hokage and check my genin for residual effects of the attack. Also to make sure he didn't double back."

The dragon snorted.

"Yes, well, not all enemy jonin are inclined to be sensible."

The dragon made that interrogative noise again.

"No, I don't speak Dragon, but I'm usually pretty good at guessing. By the way, that attack you used against the first jonin. In the future, you might avoid completely incinerating targets as it is difficult to get information from ash floating on the wind."

The dragon snorted again.

"I understand. Which one of my genin were you protecting?"

The dragon made an odd noise that ended with an interrogative sound.

"Like I said, I'm good with puzzles."

The dragon sighed, and then grunted.

"Ah," said Kurenai. "I should have guessed. She's essentially a princess, or at least a highly placed lady of a noble house."

The dragon made an odd noise.

"Well, yes, it IS traditional for dragons to go stealing away princesses."

The dragon craned his head around to look back at where Kurenai was straddling his neck near the shoulders.

"I'm not approving, I simply stated I understood," said Kurenai. "Though if the dragon wants to save the princess, I think I've heard a few tales like that as well."

The dragon snorted again, this time sounding as if he agreed.

"What's next? An evil prince trying to steal the girl from the dragon?" asked Kurenai.

The dragon snorted and circled the clearing.

"ANBU? And the Hokage?" asked Kurenai as she got a good look. She also noted that the dragon didn't seem intimidated and the Hokage was standing in the middle of the clearing and seemed perfectly fine with the approach of ninety+ tons of dragon.

The dragon's landing was clumsy, but managed to avoid taking out more than a few trees at the far end of the clearing from the gathering.

Kurenai wasted no time in appearing at the Hokage's side, ready to tell the Hokage this wasn't an enemy. Even though she suspected he already knew that.

"Hokage-sama, this dragon -" began Kurenai.

The Hokage held up a hand and when he spoke there was a voice amplification jutsu that carried to the various ANBU, the three genin being helped to their feet, and probably the next two training areas. "Summoning contracts are normally passed from teacher to student and are jealously guarded. Some though are passed along a family line. Naruto Uzumaki has just come into part of his inheritance."

The dragon looked at the Hokage for a few moments, then nodded, took wing again and flew off.

"One of the nin escaped," said Kurenai.

"I already have teams looking," said the Hokage, making a gesture. The various ANBU moved out.

"That... wasn't a summons, was it?" asked Kurenai in a much quieter voice.

"Oh? What else could it be?" asked the Hokage.

"I don't know for certain," said Kurenai Yuhi.

"Hmm, well, let me know if you figure out that puzzle," said the obviously amused old man.

"Does the dragon pose any danger to my genin or the village?" asked Kurenai directly.

"Not deliberately, I'd say," said the Hokage, considering the jonin out of the corner of his eye. "He can be a little clumsy though."

"The dragon admitted he was there to save Hinata," stated Kurenai.

"He said that?" asked the Hokage.

"He nodded in response to teh question," replied Kurenai. "So, if the dragon is a summons, the dragon was directed to save Hinata by that summoner."

"Logical," admitted the Hokage.

"Someone concerned about Hinata's safety," mused Kurenai. "Well, that lets her immediate family out."

"True," agreed the Hokage. "Now, Yuhi. As much as I enjoy the paperwork that goes with the title of Hokage - I have to get back to my duties."

Kurenai watched the Hokage go, then turned to regard the boy in orange clothes who'd come out of the woods to speak with Hinata. That was Naruto Uzumaki, wasn't it? The carrier of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Hmmm.

* * *

><em>The next day:<em>  
>"-and so you see, Naruto will need a tutor and I shall eventually be engaged to him," said the woman with the lightly pointed ears. "Though, admittedly, he won't be old enough for me until he's about five or six hundred years old."<p>"I see," said the Hokage. "What is your dragon-form like?"<p>

"Big," said Keritrasza. "There was a translation function involved as I understand it. When I take my full-size dragon-form, I'm well over a kilometer in length. Shapechanging into a human form is much easier on the surroundings."

"Also less likely to promote panic among the civilian populace," noted the Hokage.

"That too," agreed Keri.

The Hokage looked back and forth amongst the squad of ANBU he'd hand picked for this. They were a small group, of whose loyalty he could be sure of. Added to this select group for sharing this secret were two others. As with the ANBU, their loyalty was such it was unquestionable. Unlike with ANBU, they being brought in on this secret was because the Hokage believed in back-up plans and having someone outside his normal chain-of-command and channels would be useful in a pinch.

Inoichi Yamanaka met the Hokage's eyes and gave a slight nod. With a connection, even tenuous as this was, he could tell if someone was speaking falsehoods.

Ibiki Morino, head of Torture and Interrogation, also inclined his head slightly.

"If you would transform briefly," said the Hokage. "Here you are outside the village but nearby. We'll simply explain the dragon appearance as a boss summons, Naruto's form as a secondary summons. That way any time you do show up -"

"It'll be seen as remarkable but give them an explanation they can accept within their current worldview," noted Keritrasza. "Something that can be explained is always less frightening than the unexplained. Very well then. For references. I can adjust the form's size through my shapechanging ability, but this is my natural form within your world."

One moment the woman was there, then a blur that expanded and kept expanding. When she was done there was a dragon.

"She's bigger than the Nine-tails," noted Cat.

"More massive, better armored," noted Ibiki. His eyes looked for any weaknesses and gradually picked out the least armored and therefore most vulnerable places. Getting to them in a fight might be difficult though.

The dragon's eyes met his, and he saw that yes - if it came to it this would be a most formidable opponent. She would know those weaknesses and cover them.

"What did you say her cover identity would be?" asked Wolf.

"She's indicated a desire for her cover identity to be that of a shrine priestess," said the Hokage as the dragon lifted onto her hind legs and spread wings - looking even more impressive.

Then she sent a beam of violet energy heavenwards and impressive ceased to be an adequate term.

"She's going to help defend the village if we're ever attacked, right?" said Inoichi.

The dragonform shifted back to the human woman from earlier. Who then settled her cloak around her shoulders and otherwise looked unassuming.

"That's right," said the Hokage. "Part of the agreement was for assistance in such disasters - so long as Naruto is part of the village and treated as such by those in authority."

"From what I've seen you are as fair as circumstances allow you," said Keri.

"You said Naruto will be engaged to you in several hundred years," said Inoichi. "Does that mean he will be alive centuries from now?"

"Yes, dragons such as we can live for millenia," answered the dragon. "And if you are thinking about your daughter, that would be no problem at all."

"Eh?" asked Inoichi. "Well, actually I hadn't. It wouldn't work anyway as she's the heir of my clan. Necessary for children to eventually inherit the mantle and such."

"Again, it would be no problem at all," the dragon assured him. "It might actually be fun to watch over a clan or two for a few millenia."

Inoichi stared, his mind trying to grasp the implications of what was being said.

"So, Naruto Uzumaki can still have human children?" asked Ibiki, having grasped certain concepts and coming to consider them in a thoughtful manner.

"Oh yes," said Keri, acknowledging the scarred man with an inclination of her head. "That would actually start a bloodline with enhanced abilities. I don't understand the equations completely myself, but it looks as if the mother's abilities would be enhanced with a minor longevity trait and exceptional physical resilience thrown in. There's a way to share some small bit of draconic power with a mate, enhancing their powers, though it needs to be renewed every so often. Necessary considering the fragility of humans and such."

Everyone present was a ninja. Everyone present grasped the potential implications of that.

* * *

>It was the sort of Shinto-esque shrine one might expect in a backwoods part of Japan. That it had appeared overnight but looked as if it had been there for a few decades was just one of the odd things about it.<p>Then there was the tall redhaired woman who was sweeping the front steps. Since the days of Kushina Uzumaki there had been nobody within Konohagakure that had possessed hair of close to that shade.<p>

Wearing the white and red traditional shrine priestess clothing, her hair tied back with a simple white ribbon, the young woman tended her shrine simply.

The Hokage and a few ANBU came by at one point to speak with the woman, but otherwise her first day was quiet.

The same could not be said for everywhere else in Konoha unfortunately.

* * *

><p>Kurenai had gone back over the conversation with the Hokage and realized that the Hokage had <span>implied<span> that Naruto was the one with the dragon contract, but she also noted that he never outright stated that.

She was a jonin. Jonin were supposed to be able to pick up on things like that.

She had also observed that Naruto had spoken to Hinata, who had nodded and blushed and twiddled her fingers a lot. That had gone on until Kiba had gotten fed up with the situation and begun the self-appointed task of driving off the intruder.

Kurenai Yuhi had noted that, and had noted one other interesting little thing. Akamaru had been VERY reluctant to approach Naruto. What that meant - she was still puzzling out. It could be as simple as Naruto having had the scent of the dragon still on him from having summoned him.

As today's D-Rank mission involved manning one of Konoha's gates and checking for contraband, she had lots of time to consider the various puzzles presented her on the previous day.

"So," said Kurenai when Kiba was talking to Shino across the street and there was a break in foot traffic, "you like this Uzumaki boy?"

Hinata eeped, turned red, and began playing with her fingers again as she stammered some indistinct reply.

Kurenai raised one eyebrow slightly, interpreting that as a 'yes' with the qualifier that she hadn't actually told the boy in question.

As the boy had approached Hinata yesterday, he either suspected or had just learned of it. It was all there for someone who knew how to look at body language.

Interesting.

* * *

><p>"Juggle eggs?" asked Naruto, looking completely baffled.<p>

"That's right," said Kakashi Hatake. "You mentioned that your bloodline just activated and you were obviously having trouble controlling your strength yesterday. So now you learn to control that strength."

"Oh, I get it," said Sakura. "He has to be able to control his strength and be precise, or he'll just break the eggs."

"Eggsactly," said Kakashi.

"Or the yolk would be on me?" asked Naruto.

"You'd better get cracking," advised Kakashi, holding up the carton of eggs.

Sasuke winced. Puns, why did it have to be puns?

"Oh, so what will we be doing?" asked Sakura, indicating Sasuke.

"Stamina training," said Kakashi, producing two large backpacks. "After all, if Naruto spars with either of you now - you might die. Best to work on your stamina and avoidance skills."

"UGH!" said Sakura, barely managing to lift the heavy backpack and begin shrugging it into place. "What's in this? It weighs a ton!"

"Only about 50kg actually," said Kakashi. "Now is when the bees should show up."

"Bees?" asked Sakura, looking around. Then one landed on her arm.

Sasuke looked to the side, turned pale, and began running with the backpack firmly in place.

"Why, what did you-" Sakura looked, paled, and began running.

The swarm of bees darted after the two genin.

"I'll have to thank Anko for this idea," mused Kakashi as the two other genin sped off into the distance.

* * *

>AUTHOR'S NOTES:<p>There will be a part two. One of those ideas which just sort of took off because i wanted to write something fun. And besides, dragons add a certain degree of cool. <p>


	2. Chapter 2: At last, a C Rank!

**Spiral Dragon**

by Greylle

DISCLAIMER: Original series belong to someone else.  
>NOTE: The following is just an idea that came to me and started developing. Not sure how long i'll keep going on it.<p>

Spiral Dragon, part two: At last - a C-Rank!  
><p>

* * *

>"I officially hate you," said Sasuke to Kakashi, applying fresh salve to the bee stings covering his left arm.<p>Sakura whimpered.<p>

"Why is she wearing a bag over her head?" asked Kakashi.

"She fell down," said Sasuke. "Swarmed."

"Oh, I guess she wasn't ready for that level of training," said Kakashi.

"Agreed," said Sasuke.

"We'll have to work her up to that level," said Kakashi. "What could I use that's a little slower than bees?"

Sakura whimpered again.

"Anko has some pretty good ideas about training," said Kakashi thoughtfully.

"Right, she's the one who came up with the bee avoidance exercise?" asked Sasuke, taking out a little notebook.

"Yes, Anko Mitarashi. What's that anyway?"

"Vengeance list," said Sasuke, writing the name down and then putting the notebook away.

"Naruto, how's the eggercize going?" asked Kakashi of his final genin.

"Eggsactly as you might eggspect," said Naruto, happy to throw puns around.

"Let me guess," said Sasuke. "You were a smash?"

"The yolk was on me all right," responded Naruto.

"Please stop," said the kunoichi in their midst.

"The voice of eggsaspiration," noted Kakashi.

"Maybe she's trying not to crack up," observed Sasuke, who didn't think losing to Naruto in ANYTHING was particularly acceptable or maybe it was just the bee stings irritation.

"Well, we've got a mission to get to," said Kakashi as he realized that Sakura was beginning to shake. "There's the Hiryu Shrine, a nice little place that's just set up. We'll work on Sakura's endurance, Sasuke's avoidance skills, and Naruto's strength control after it."

* * *

><p>"Hello, I am called 'Keri'," said the shrine priestess. "Hello cousin."<p>

"Eh?" asked all three genin.

"That's you, Naruto," said Keri.

"Eh?" asked all three genin.

"I've got a relative?" asked Naruto.

"Distant," said Keri. "I'm also to instruct you in fuuinjutsu, so I specifically requested Team 7 for assistance. I expect that if you do a good job, I may have to do so again in the future."

"You're related to Naruto?" asked Sakura, taking the bag off in order to see more clearly.

"Yes, and... what happened to you child?" asked Keri.

"Training accident," supplied Kakashi.

"Come along," said Keri, shaking her head. "I can't have you greeting petitioners looking like that."

* * *

><p>Kakashi had found a little stone bench under a tree and begun reading. It was a pleasant morning, things were going well, but he was distracted by the shrine priestess. She had the red hair that Kushina had, and it was <span>possible<span> that she was a relative. Uzumaki were pretty rare though after the fall of Whirlpool.

"Here we go," said Keri's voice, prompting Kakashi to look up and begin staring.

Sakura and the priestess were wearing the traditional white and red of shrine priestesses, but it was Sakura having a freshly-scrubbed look and a lack of swelling that caught his attention.

"You think I can learn to do that?" asked Sakura.

"Medical jutsu? If you've got good chakra control, I've a scroll on the basics," said Keri. "Now if you'll sweep this area? This is mainly to be obviously here and able to provide for visitors. I've already got Naruto working on some stone engraving and Sasuke is working on repairs of the warehouse."

"Really?" asked Sakura thoughtfully.

"It really is important at your age to think about specialization of your ninja skills, so you can concentrate your efforts there," said Keri, glancing up at Kakashi. "Unless of course, you're the famed 'Copy Nin' who is good at everything."

"Well, we can't all be as awesome as me," said Kakashi, smiling to indicate he wasn't completely serious. Though his mask was blocking most of that smile.

"So, if it meets your training schedule?" asked Keri, raising an eyebrow.

Kakashi hesitated. There was more going on here than just what was visible on the surface. He was sufficiently experienced that he could get a feeling for a potential opponent's raw power - and he was currently getting the feeling he was facing someone of Kage-level power. He was also getting absolutely no threat from that individual, but there was something _off_ about her.

Kakashi waited until the woman was off instructing Sakura on what the various plaques, wards, prayer strips, and fortune telling procedures were. Acting as if he was just idly scratching an itch, he moved the forehead protector away from his Sharingan eye for just a moment.

When he pulled it back down, he was a little more confused.

* * *

><p>"Do you think this year will be any different?" asked the old woman.<p>

"Maybe," said the old man. "The sea monsters are new, so maybe that'll provide the excuse they're looking for."

"Maybe with the sea monsters, this is the year my group has been waiting for," said the old woman.

"That old prophesy? The dragon god?" The old man shook his head. "No, the shrine maidens are good for business, but we've got enough problems with sea serpents. No way there's any such things as dragons in this day and age."

* * *

><p>Kakashi waited until Sakura was off sweeping the stairs before coming up behind the shrine priestess.<p>

"Something wrong?" asked the miko without turning around.

"I'm pretty sure Naruto doesn't have any living relatives," said Kakashi.

"Mostly true, in all this world, there is no closer relative to Naruto than I am," responded the priestess. "So why not ask the Hokage about me? Or the nice ANBU across the street."

Kakashi frowned, extending his senses to find - yes there was one there. Very good at being hidden too, if his attention hadn't been called to it - he might not have detected that one until something had required movement.

"That one's 'Cat' - Yugao Uzuki. Sword-wielder," said Keri. "She's safe."

"'Safe'?" asked Kakashi.

"One of the problems with wood is that it rots, particularly wood that is kept deep in the shadows and moistness of underground," said Keri, giving all apparent attention to Sakura's sweeping.

"I don't understand," said Kakashi.

"Actually, I think you do understand, you're just fishing for more information," said Keri. "How about a brief spar after your mission tomorrow? Will that settle you any?"

"Why tomorrow?" asked Kakashi.

"Energy barrier seals have to be emplaced," said Keri. "That way we can demonstrate the skill level that they need to aspire to. I might be able to get some of those chakra-replenishing orbs if you need some."

"They're called 'soldier pills'," said Kakashi.

"Oh yes," said Keri. "That's right. Silly name though. You have conscript forces here in the Land Of Fire - but as they are not ninja don't actually use them. Only ninja use them, so you'd think they'd call them 'ninja pills' or something."

"I wasn't involved with the naming of those," protested Kakashi.

Keri merely shrugged a little in reply. "There are many things about ninja life which don't make a lot of sense to me. Though tomorrow you can work some of that frustration off."

"Why not today?" asked Kakashi, pulling the cover off his Sharingan and charging up a chidori. It was just a bluff to get this woman to reveal who she really was.

He wasn't expecting the woman to turn, grab his hand, and slam his active chidori into her chest before releasing his hand - all in an eyeblink. Really, of all the moves one would EXPECT of a potential opponent faced with an 'instant-kill' jutsu, wouldn't that be among the least expected responses?

"KAKASHI-SENSEI?" screamed Sakura, who had looked up from her sweeping to find their sensei assaulting their client.

_Poink poink!_

Kakashi frowned as the still-active chidori dented the woman's breasts under her hakama but didn't seem to be able to penetrate her skin.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI?" yelled Naruto, drawn by Sakura's scream.

_Poink poink!_

"WOULD YOU STOP FEELING UP THE CLIENT?" yelled Sakura, truly aghast at this development.

Sasuke had come running up himself, imagining any number of situations that might have developed to cause that cry from Sakura, and now merely stopped with a disgusted expression and leaned against one wall. The glowy hand technique looked interesting at least.

The shock of what had just happened caused Kakashi Hatake to drop the technique. Of course, none of his genin would recognize the chidori for what it was. And he realized that if he explained it, that really wouldn't help that much.

"Honestly," said Keri, shaking her head. "In front of children no less! Very well, Kakashi Hatake! I challenge you to a duel for my honor! You don't know me nearly well enough to take such liberties!"

"Uhm, so does that mean if I knew you better..." said Kakashi, who then shut his mouth as he realized how his gathering genin, the arriving ANBU Cat, and a few shrine-goers who were now watching would interpret that.

"Armor Piercing Slap No Jutsu!"

* * *

><p><em>Next morning:<em>  
>Team 7 watched from the sidelines. They noted the presence of ANBU nearby, who also watched.<p>

Keri settled into place on one side, then made a couple of quick gestures. Blue sigils glowed brightly in response, and a blue box seemed to form over the section before fading to a barely-there translucency.

"What exactly does this barrier do?" asked Kakashi, looking over the sigils behind him.

"It's easily dispelled if one strikes one of the seals maintaining it," explained Keri. "However it will serve to contain our battle to this single field. It would not do for one of our attacks to stray out and destroy a building. Not to mention it'll make it easier to clean things up when we're done."

"I see, then shall we begin?" asked Kakashi, curious to see what this 'shrine maiden' could do. He uncovered his usually-concealed eye to study his opponent the better.

"As you will," said Keri, settling into a horse-stance then bringing her arms up into an 'X' in front of her. "Kongou Style! Demon Wind Blades!"

Kakashi dodged as the two scythe-forms of wind projectiles went sailing past him. He saw her about to repeat the technique and decided to block instead. "Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"

* * *

><p>Sasuke blinked as walls of rock were formed, then chopped through by wind blades. "Interesting."<p>

"Kakashi-sensei can move pretty fast when he wants to," noted Naruto.

"He just formed spears of earth to throw at your relative," said Sakura to Naruto, though she didn't turn away from the fight. "She broke them with her bare hands?"

"She's pretty strong," noted Naruto.

"He just formed walls around her and tried to crush her with them," said Sakura. "That was impressive, even if she was able to break the walls apart."

"What?" asked Sasuke. "She combined fire and lightning to throw... whatever that was at him."

"Plasma?" asked Sakura, guessing.

"He used a substitution jutsu. That log... just liquified where the attack hit it," said Sasuke, eyes wide and wishing he knew that particular attack. That looked suitably painful.

"Looks like Kakashi-sensei has decided to try taijutsu," noted Naruto as Kakashi dove in.

"Popcorn?"

Team 7 all stared as the Hokage offered them a red-and-white striped bag of the snack.

* * *

><p>Kakashi Hatake was impressed. The shrine maiden didn't know that much ninjutsu, but her strength was considerable. Even more so than Naruto's newfound strength.<p>

Diving in, he slammed a kick into the woman that she was able to block but which still would have at least caused Guy to grunt from the impact.

Instead she DELIBERATELY signalled an attack which he avoided and which then cratered the ground for a good six feet. Yeah, avoiding it DID seem like a good idea.

The woman was significantly tough and powerful enough to count as a significant threat even to him, and she was also pointing out how much he'd been slacking lately.

He hadn't had gone this full out in a long time, and Kakashi could feel the burn in muscles and fatigue building up.

Here came another set of not-quite-accurate hand-seals, but it was her taking a deep breath that made it clear what was about to come.

Oh, avoiding it sounded like a very good plan at the moment. Maybe taijutsu wasn't his best choice here.

A glimpse of extra people in the audience, including the Hokage, made it clear that he was expected to show off. Well, how about... "Water Release: Water Drowning Technique!"

It was nice of his opponent to put so many water barrels off to the side within the barrier. Not that he didn't think it was deliberate, but now with the water hosing her down - maybe she'd slip up finally and reveal something.

"Kongou Style: Breath Of The Dragon!"

Okay, that definitely sounded like something to avoid. "Water Style: Water Dragon!"

Water Dragon slammed into the sparkling red-yellow blast and steam resulted. With the majority of the red-yellow crackling whatever moving onward and creating a fairly deep crater. That looked like a good cue to end the fight by using a flash move behind her and placing a kunai point against the back of her neck.

As promised, her hands came up in a surrender gesture. Which was good, as he had been running low on chakra by this point.

* * *

><p>"You needed to see me, Kakashi?" asked the Hokage that evening, sitting back in his chair. He put the thumb of one hand against the forefinger of the same hand, then made a quick flicking gesture - rewarded with a small flame appearing around his thumb that he lit his pipe with.<p>

"That shrine maiden... Naruto's aunt," said Kakashi.

"Activate level 4 wards," said the Hokage, making a one-handed seal which crackled with chakra.

Kakashi's eye widened slightly. Level 4 wards were pretty tough, indicating that there were S-Class secrets involved. They weren't routinely used because the fuuinjutsu required to make them was fairly complicated and always having to be updated in order to deal with the newest eavesdropping techniques.

"Do you remember the large 'boss summons' from the other day?" asked the Hokage.

"I somehow missed it, but I've..." Kakashi felt certain impossible suspicions click together.

The Hokage sat back in his chair and started making a chain of smoke rings.

"That's..." Kakashi stopped again. "No. That can't be right."

"Hmmm?" hmmmed the Hokage, letting his subordinate work it through.

"She's the boss summons?" asked Kakashi finally.

"Yes, and..." The Hokage let that trail off.

"But when I had Naruto demonstrate his summoning technique to me in private, he had the gestures right but he didn't manage to draw blood and the summoning wasn't a summoning," said Kakashi, continuing to work things through. "It looked more like a shadow clone and a substitution." It was just that the answer he kept coming up with was something his mind just balked at.

"He is indeed the child of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki," supplied the Hokage. "However, there is more to his heritage than was originally thought."

"Naruto, who is the child of the Fourth Hokage, and the jinchuriki of the Nine-tailed Demon Fox, is..." Kakashi's voice trailed off again as his mind saw the conclusion and just did NOT want to go there.

"Able to take the form of a heavily armored, plasma-fire wielding, flies fairly quickly, dragon," said the Hokage. "It's a good thing he's a bit more thoughtful than he was in the Academy, isn't it?"

Kakashi Hatake, famed copy-nin and former ANBU captain, considered fainting. "So..."

"So Naruto still needs training, but as his sensei you should know that there may be... special needs," said the Hokage.

"When Sasuke awakens his Sharingan, he'll be able to figure it out," said Kakashi. "How far off are the Chunin Exams?"

"Another three months, why?" asked the Hokage.

"Guy will be entering his team," said Kakashi, a peculiar glitter in his visible eye.

"And you want your team to grind his into the dust?" asked the Hokage, sounding bemused.

"Who, me? The thought hardly ever entered my mind," said Kakashi, who then sighed. "This is going to cut into my reading time."

"I've got a C-Rank mission that might interest you," said the Hokage, beginning to smirk.

"A 'C-Rank'? They've barely begun 'D-Rank' missions," pointed out Kakashi.

"This is a request from Fortune Beach," said the Hokage. "The Miss Beach competition is being threatened by sea monsters."

"Fortune Beach is over a week's travel away... Ah." Kakashi tried to look disinterested and failed to pull it off to Hiruzen Sarutobi's discerning eye. "How fast can Naruto fly?"

"He can be there in less than a day, I'd think," responded the Hokage with amusement.

"I see," said Kakashi thoughtfully. "Might be a good place to have the genin train while I keep an eye on the contestants."

* * *

><p>There was a beach with warm blue crystal-clear waters. White sand beaches. What was very frequently a clear blue sky. A warm water current kept the place comfortably warm year round.<p>

The person who founded the little town there realized what he had found. His family still controlled the little settlement, even if it WAS technically in the Land Of Fire and the daimyo ruled it. He had been related to the daimyo of that time anyway, so it was sort of a family post. Since then, a few more families had joined but it was still a fairly small community with a few large families involved.

There was an island not too far off, it had some odd customs but was enough to provide many supplies and assistance during the rough early years. The two communities remained close long after Fortune Beach became much bigger and more populous than Okitsushima.

After the Second Shinobi War wrecked most of the place, it had rebuilt and someone had come up with the idea of a Miss Beach Contest. That person was a famous wandering author who set one of his novels in the area, further increasing the notoriety of Fortune Beach.

Kakashi Hatake had a chance to have a mission that would take him to Fortune Beach. To guard a Miss Beach Contest. While sampling their famous seafood, sitting on white sand beaches, having cool ocean air blowing through his hair, warm inviting waters. Well curved young ladies who might need their backs oiled by mysterious ninja...

"Kakashi? Kakashi? Ahem. Kakashi!"

"We'll take it," said Kakashi.

"You sure your team's up to it?" asked the Hokage, not seemingly surprised.

"Naruto is a heavily armored dragon, Sasuke is... Sasuke. We'll manage," said Kakashi.

"What about the third member of your team?" asked the Hokage, more bemused than anything else because he could tell Kakashi was already fantasizing. Of course, he was professional enough that while he was there he'd focus on the actual mission. So it was good to get the fantasies out of the way now.

"Who? Oh, Sakura..." Kakashi considered. "They have a junior division in that contest, right? I can give her her first undercover assignment."

* * *

><p>"What's going on, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Naruto. "You said we have a long-term mission."<p>

"Yes, unless you really want to catch Tora again..." Kakashi let his voice trail off.

"Heck no!" said Sakura. "For some reason that cat's scared to death of Naruto, and I always end up carrying it! The scratches take over a day to heal!"

"Okay, then," said Kakashi. "We have a C-Rank mission."

"A C-Rank!" exclaimed Naruto excitedly. "That's good right?"

Kakashi patiently explained the mission ranking system, noting that Naruto seemed to be listening and actually understanding it.

"So this mission takes us outside the village or could be dangerous?" asked Naruto, still enthusiastic. "Cool!"

Sasuke nodded and a slight smile could be seen if one looked for it.

"So we'll be going for about two weeks," said Kakashi. "Normally we wouldn't be able to do a mission like this, but because of Naruto's summoning abilities - we have the transportation covered."

"Naruto has a summons?" asked Sakura. "What's he summon - gerbils?"

"No. Do you need any special preparations for your summons to carry passengers?" asked Kakashi of Naruto.

"If not gerbils, it has to be something else pathetic, right Sasuke?" asked Sakura.

Sasuke frowned, wondering if the dobe had FURTHER uses than freak strength.

"Yeah," said Naruto, thinking. "I need..."

"A harness," said Keri, walking up with a large scroll.

"You know about this?" asked Kakashi.

"The Hokage let me know that my dear relative was going off, I wanted to make sure you got off safely," said Keri, taking a small pack off and handing it to Kakashi. "I've included some scrolls in there marked for each of them to study. In this scroll I've sealed an appropriate harness. Release!"

A large harness arrangement of thick rope with buckles appeared.

"That's... huge," noted Sakura. "But Naruto... with a summons?"

"Why NOT me with a summons?" asked Naruto, frowning.

"Because summoning contracts are some of the most powerful and versatile techniques out there," explained Sakura, eager to show off her knowledge. After all, Naruto's new freakish strength was making her look like she was less valuable to Sasuke than NARUTO. That was unacceptable, so she'd HAVE to show off where she really shone - which was information. "They're jealously guarded by those who have access to such things. Not just anyone can have the chakra reserves and access to them!"

"That's very true, Sakura," said Kakashi in an almost bored tone. "I have a set of ninja dogs that I use as summons myself, who are mainly used for messengers or reconn. However, you are wrong on one important detail."

"I'll eat your mask if Naruto has a summoning contract," argued Sakura. "Sasuke - definitely. I could see Sasuke with an awesome summons. But - Naruto?"

"This isn't a standard summoning sequence because our contract is somewhat different," said Keri to Naruto, having used the opportunity to show Naruto the appropriate hand signs. "It's a family thing. Now try it."

Naruto tried the hands signs, then clapped his hands together. "SUMMONING!"

_BAMF!_

There was abruptly Naruto sitting atop fifty feet of heavily armored dragon.

Sakura's eyes were blank little circles as she stared, slump-shouldered, jaw hanging down and gently creaking in the wind.

"Hnn," was Sasuke's comment, nodding once at the dragon. Now THIS was transportation with style. He liked style.

"Now help me get this harness on," said Keri, lifting one section up. "Step into the loops here like this."

"Ah, I see how it goes," said Kakashi, moving to one of the other holes.

Sasuke watched for a moment, nodded, then went to an appropriate section opposite Naruto and began assisting.

"Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba..." offered Sakura, managing to point. "kai?"

"Ah, there are sections where bags can be tied into place," noted Kakashi as he clicked fasteners together. "That's handy."

"It can be adjusted too," Keri explained. "There's some stretch in it, and the material is pretty tough but it can be cut. Something to watch out for if there's airborne combat."

"Airborne combat?" asked Sasuke, pausing as he cinched a section tighter. Then patted the dragon in apology at the displeased rumble from the creature.

"KAI!" tried Sakura more forcefully as she tried to dispel the genjutsu.

"Hmm," said Kakashi thoughtfully. "In combat you could carry several high level ninja aloft. Who could then bring ranged jutsu into play, using those belts to hook directly onto the harness to leave their hands free. I can see where that could be useful."

"Hadn't thought of that," rumbled the dragon in an extremely deep and powerful voice.

"Well, it's something to keep in mind," said Kakashi.

"Ta-ta-ta-talked?" observed a still completely freaked out Sakura.

"Of course I talked," rumbled the dragon, neglecting to mention that he was still getting used to being a dragon and had only recently worked that part out. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Species-ist," complained Keri.

"She'll have to get over that," said Kakashi.

"Hnn," agreed Sasuke.

"Okay," said the shadow clone impersonating the real Naruto. "Got this part done. We ready?"

Everyone glanced towards Sakura, who was still staring at the dragon.

"I'm not putting out the dragonfear aura, am I?" asked the dragon.

"No, well, maybe a little," said Keri after considering that. She finally just sighed, went over to Sakura, and picked up the kunoichi as if she were a bundle of clothes destined for the wash. "First time exposed to dragonfear or 'killing intent' - which is different but similar?"

"Hardly noticeable," said Sasuke, who knew REAL killing intent.

"Ne ne," said Kakashi, making a placating gesture. "Give her some slack. Best she get used to it in small amounts, build up some resistance. Oh, and Sakura?"

"E-eh?" asked Sakura, who'd gone from stiff to shaky at this point as the shrine priestess set her down on the dragon.

"No, you may not eat my mask," Kakashi solemnly informed her.

Keri checked the tethers and belts that kept the ninja secured to their dragon, even the shadow clone impersonating the real Naruto, and finally nodded after checking the supplies.

Stepping back away from the group, she spoke directly to the dragon. "Curl your tail underneath you when you push off, you'll shove with that as well as your rear legs, and don't go too high. Your passengers will have less trouble breathing if you keep it to about mountain-height. Judge your altitude from the clouds. Don't go up to the highest cloud level until you're a lot older. Watch your speed too. You need to find a nice cruising speed that you can keep up for a long period of time, don't go too fast or you'll tire. Not to mention you've got passengers who need to be able to breathe."

"Got it," said the dragon, nodding.

"You catch all that Naruto?" asked Keri of the shadow clone in the most forward seat.

The Naruto clone impersonating Naruto nodded. "Thanks aunty."

"Hmph, more of a distant cousin," said Keri. "You passengers - get good grips on take-offs and landings. Those are the trickiest parts of a flight and your dragon is still young and inexperienced. Everyone ready?"

"Yes!" "Hnn." "We're really going to fly? Wait 'inexperienced'?" "Believe it!"

"Then take off!" said Keri, making a slashing motion with one arm.

The dragon leapt into the air.

* * *

><p>This... this was cool.<p>

Sasuke Uchiha had the excellent vision that his clan normally had. After the initial crushing g-force of the 'take-off' things had levelled out and they were soaring over a carpet of green. Those were tree-tops down there. WAY down there. You could see the horizons in all directions, at a distance that you simply could not understand when you were stuck on the ground. You could see so far, so clearly.

"How high are we?" shouted Kakashi to Naruto over the wind of their passage.

"About eight thousand feet," shouted Naruto.

Sasuke blinked and leaned out as far as his tether would allow. That was pretty high up.

Yes, this was actually pretty cool. And they were travelling quickly. Didn't this mean that they would be able to take on missions in distant areas? Sakura was right, summons WERE useful and versatile.

He'd thought that Naruto would be the anchor that kept him from being able to spread his wings and fly, to reach his full potential. That appeared to be not the case any longer. This was good.

* * *

><p>Kakashi glanced towards the shadow clone of Naruto, then back up to the dragon's head. Easily fifty feet long, then factor in the tail length. The takeoff had been rough, Sakura had squeaked as they all felt the sudden leap forward. After getting some altitude though - things had smoothed out.<p>

"How high are we?" yelled Kakashi to Naruto. On Naruto-clone's reply, Kakashi simply nodded and flipped open his book to start reading. At that altitude most attacks were out of range. Considering their speed, which was considerable, anyone that tried to target them would have to overcome both obstacles in order to strike. In which case they'd have to get airborne themselves and try to match speeds. If they did any of that, he'd have time to mark his place in the book and secure it before dealing with the threat.

Kakashi glanced at Sasuke, who was holding onto his tether and looking down at the ground. Probably judging their speed and altitude for himself. Kakashi also saw a brief grin there, but it was gone a moment later.

Then there was Sakura, who had been so reluctant to get on the dragon in the first place.

From the grin on her face, she'd gotten over that. Her hands were still clutching the harness in a death-grip, but she seemed to be slowly relaxing. Good.

* * *

>The breed was Adamantine Dragon, but it was not a precise copy. Especially as the set of universes with the original Bytopian Adamantine Dragon had been revised and rewritten. Yes, again.<p>So Naruto was fifty feet long of heavily armored dragon that was currently flying at around 8000 feet in altitude and managing at a little over 100mph.<p>

Ninja running and leaping was fairly fast, in comparison to civilians walking. Some were at least as fast as a horse would have been, some faster. There were a few who could go this fast without a dragon. Not many though.

Sakura had started out terrified nearly beyond all rationality. Naruto, not known for self-control, had summoned a creature big enough that she herself qualified as "bite-sized nugget" to it. Armored plates covering it that she was quite sure her kunai would not penetrate. Eyes that seemed to look deep into her soul and strip away secrets. Claws like daggers, teeth like swords. And when it seemed that "Sakura McNugget" was a fate for her future, the summoned beast had spoken.

The threat level had lowered as it had spoken, though the voice had been very deep and inhuman sounding. Which made sense because the chest cavity was very large and the neck was very long and the mouth wasn't shaped very humanly. Speaking meant intelligence behind those odd blue eyes, and while the voice was deep and powerful - it hadn't sounded menacing at all.

Then she'd watched, still unable to move much, while the others of her team and that shrine priestess had fitted the harness together. Tethers on spring-hook arrangements linked belts to harness. The dragon had looked back in concern as it was all done.

The priestess had batted her hands away at one point, using the same sort of strength that Naruto seemed to have nowadays, and linked her into the same sort of tether arrangement.

All too soon she was being crushed under sudden acceleration as their ride got moving. Once that was over, she slowly opened her eyes.

It was beautiful.

The sun was bright overhead, there were clouds above them, the sky was blue, and she could see further in all directions than she'd ever managed to do before this.

There was hardly any effort involved, just keeping a grip on the harness with a couple of loops that one leg was threaded through. The tether-belt arrangement was mainly if she slipped or fighting broke out. She understood that.

The wind passing by her, which was actually relatively still air that the dragon was passing through, made talking difficult. She heard Kakashi yell something, Naruto yell back, but couldn't make out what they said. Instead she just looked them over and read the body language that indicated nothing threatening them. Though she was unclear as to what exactly COULD threaten them. If the big armored nasty was actually on their side...

"Faster!" called out Sakura. "Higher!"

Despite the wind generated by their passage, the dragon's head momentarily twisted back to regard her for a moment. It was somewhat surprising that despite the inhuman visage that she could see surprise and then a glimpse of a friendly grin as the dragon turned forward again.

Wings beat the air again, cupping it as the dragon lifted still further.

It took less than an hour at that pace before thick forest gave way to grassy hills and the dragon slowed itself. Himself?

Leaning out as far as her tether allowed, Sakura looked down and determined that they were passing to the left of a sprawling village of some kind on the shores of an ocean. A strip of white sands and then blue waters.

Their forward momentum continued to slow, and then changed into a slow spiral down.

Kakashi slapped his hand down twice on the dragon's hide, causing the head to curl back on that long neck and regard him. Their jonin instructor said something to their ride, to which the dragon nodded. Their angle of descent changed so that they'd land further away from the village.

The reason was clear to Sakura. Keep the dragon as a reserve weapon.

Then their angle of descent changed again, with a sudden feeling of tenseness in the air.

Sakura blinked and tried to see what was ahead of them as their speed picked up and they angled into a steeper dive.

* * *

><p>Sasuke could see it. There was a thin ribbon of something out in the ocean. It was moving though, and fairly quickly. Whatever it was leaving a wake behind it.<p>

Then their dragon did something, a shudder going through its body and a glow building up ahead of it's head. After a few seconds of some thrumming noise in the air, a bolt of crackling energy went flying out ahead of them and impacted just behind and to the left of the ribbon. The ribbon veered away and dove below the water.

By that time he'd already figured out the scale as they continued to dive towards the water. The 'ribbon' was some sort of snake and it was huge. Bigger even than the dragon they were on. Certainly bigger than the ship that he hadn't even been able to see until they were practically there.

The angle changed, turning more shallow and decreasing their speed.

Sasuke glanced towards Naruto, frowning. The dead last loser had just proven that he could contribute more than just that freakish strength he'd developed.

Sasuke had a brief and very satsifying fantasy involving That Man, tomato sauce, and sharp teeth the size and general shape of swords.

* * *

><p>Kakashi was ready for it and signalled his genin, remembering the words from the shrine priestess.<p>

Sure enough, the landing was rough. Naruto would have to practice those well away from the village.

"Okay, we're a distance from the village, we'll walk the rest of the way," said Kakashi, before becoming aware of an awkwardness. The shadow clone and dragon were considering each other.

"Dragon-san," said Kakashi. "If you'd go ahead and investigate where the sea serpent disappeared. And Naruto, go scout around for a place we can hide the harness until we need it again."

The two looked relieved. He'd have to come up with a better way in the future though for "Naruto" to dismiss the "summoned dragon" until he felt ready for sharing the secret with Sakura and Sasuke.

* * *

><p>The beast stood ready, detecting the movement of something getting closer through an extended antennae..<p>

When it was within range, the beast attacked, sending tentacles with fine needles out to grab onto the prey-item. It would be quickly subdued, brought into the water, and devoured.

The tentacles grabbed on, but then the beast found itself being pulled out of the water.

Optical sensors that weren't quite as developed as a true eye came into play even as the grabber-tentacles tried to sting the prey. Unfortunately the prey had a tough armoring of scales and-

_CRUNCH!_

The dragon chewed idly on the beast as the bulk of its body thrashed around in its death-throes.

After a few moments, the dragon blurred and shrunk before Naruto grabbed one of the limbs and dragged it back to where Kakashi and company were.

* * *

><p>"So, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto hefted the thing and tossed it to the center of the cleared area (said area having been cleared by a dragon who really needed to work on landings) where it landed with a splunching sort of noise. "What the heck is this?"<p>

Sakura and Sasuke simply went silent as they stared at it.

Kakashi used a kunai to manipulate one of the tentacles. "Hmmm. Let's see. Six tentacles, with little barbs that look like they could contain a poison. A mouth that has teeth like a shark. Eyes aren't very developed. Skin is rubbery but coarse. I'd say that this is..."

There was some silence from all three genin, waiting for the dramatic pause to end.

Finally Sakura broke the silence. "You have no idea either, do you?"

"Meh, Sakura, I'm a ninja not a marine biologist," responded Kakashi. "I'll simply call it a nasty sea monster, number two."

"That giant serpent being the first," guessed Sakura. "What was that the dragon spat at the sea serpent anyway?"

"Plasma, which is lightning and fire chakra combined, I think," said Kakashi. "Very destructive."

"Hnn," Sasuke indicated his interest.

"That reminds me Naruto," said Sakura, going to an "I'm so sweet butter wouldn't melt in my mouth" look. "You ought to let Sasuke sign the Dragon Contract."

"Huh?" asked Naruto. "Why?"

"Because that way we'd have TWO dragons available," explained Sakura, trying to turn up the cute.

"There's a problem with that, Sakura," said Kakashi. "It's a clan technique. Meaning that only members of the Uzumaki clan can access it."

"Oh," said Sakura, deflating slightly.

"So that shrine priestess can also summon a dragon?" asked Sasuke, thinking of various possibilities there.

"As I understand it, yes, she can summon an even larger and more powerful one," said Kakashi.

"Is that all?" asked Sakura. "I knew Naruto didn't have a mother and father, that's one reason he's so immature. No other members of his clan at all?"

"No," said Kakashi. "Were there any more of these creatures Naruto?"

"Just the one, I think," offered Naruto.

"Did you have to drag it all the way, Naruto?" asked Sakura. "You left a trail."

"Hey," protested Naruto. "It's freakin' twenty feet long and it ain't got any bones! How the heck was I supposed to move it other than dragging it?"

Sasuke used a kunai to heft one tentacle, frowning as he had to brace one arm with the other and it was still a strain. When he dropped it, he was considering Naruto with a thoughtful expression.

"So, Naruto," said Kakashi after a few moments. "You and I and Sasuke will go into the village, you're in charge of bringing the monster."

"What about me, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sakura.

"I have a different angle I want you to explore," said Kakashi.

* * *

><p>"You're here for the Miss Beach contest?" asked the older man.<p>

"Yes, that's right," said the pink-haired girl. "Where do I sign up?"

The old man jerked a thumb at the sign over his head that proclaimed that this was where you signed up for the Miss Beach contest.

"Oh, right, well - I found the right place then," said the girl.

"Junior Division," said the old man, putting a clipboard in front of her. "You get permission from your parents?"

"That's right," said the girl, signing her name.

"'Sakura Haruno'?" asked the old man after taking the clipboard back.

Sakura froze for a second, as she'd automatically signed her real name and not come up with a cover identity. "Ye-yes. That's me."

"No relation to those Haruno up in the Village Of Wild Women, are you?" asked the old man.

"Not that I'm aware of," responded Sakura, honestly not knowing and now wondering herself. Though there was something about the name of that village that just didn't sound right.

"Good," said the old man, looking a little relieved. "In three days the contest is supposed to start. Just stick around. Oh, and no killing or maiming or disfiguring the other contestants."

Sakura blinked. "This is a swimsuit contest, isn't it?"

"Yes," said the old man sadly. "That was how it started and all that was ever intended."

"Right," said Sakura, then looking to the side as she saw three familiar figures and a fourth she recognized as one of Naruto's "Sexy Jutsu" but actually wearing clothes. "Are those ninja? Dragging a... what is that?"

"They came?" said the old man, getting up from his seat. "Hot damn. We won't have to cancel after all."

* * *

><p>"So, a dragon?" The old woman frowned thoughtfully as she considered what she'd seen as she got out of the little boat.<p>

"Maybe it was just a sea monster?" asked another old woman.

"It didn't seem equipped for anything 'sea' related actually, and was flying," pointed out an old man.

"We'll head back to Okitsushima," said the second old woman. "You go ahead and verify."

"I'm now a dragon-hunter?" asked the eldest of the three, shaking her head. "Yae Nagumo, dragon hunter. Hmph. I like the sound of that. Fine. We still have to get ready for the festival. Chie, I'm counting on you to handle the preparations."

The second old woman, nodded. "Nothing I haven't handled for a few decades anyway. At this point, being minus a single pair of hands won't be a bother."

* * *

><p>"That's one of 'em, all right." The old man adjusted his cap and spat to the side. "Lessee. Eight eyes, two mouths, six tentacles, twenny feet long. That'll be 20,000 ryo. I'll give ya a chit for it. Just cash it at the bank."<p>

Sasuke blinked, Naruto gaped.

"That's all?" asked Kakashi.

"Well, we ain't all that wealthy here ya know," said the old man. "At least lately. We're a resort beach, but with these monsters running around - business ain't doing too well."

"How much would that big snake-thing have been?" asked Naruto.

"If it be the one I be thinking of, about 500,000 ryo," said the old man. "That one's gone after ships."

"Oh?" asked Kakashi, seemingly not interested.

"Yeah, shipping companies putting that much forward," said the old man, sticking his hand out. "You're that Kakashi Hatake, right? Infamous copy-nin, sometimes known as 'Sharingan Kakashi'?"

"You know of me?" asked Kakashi, raising an eyebrow.

"I've been to Konoha a few times as a client," said the old man. "Name's Kyuujou!"

"Oh?" asked Kakashi.

"Honestly, you'd think you guys didn't want jobs," grumbled Kyuujou. "I've been trying to get you for the Miss Beach contest for a couple years now!"

"Eh?" asked Naruto and Sasuke, making aversion signs.

"As a JUDGE!" added Kyuujou, interpreting their reaction.

"Whew," said Naruto, looking very relieved.

"Very funny, Naru... you have?" asked Kakashi.

"Of course," said Kyuujou. "I've always thought you'd make a great judge!"

"Oh?" Kakashi asked, seemingly bored at the concept.

"It's said that your Sharingan eye misses nothing," said Kyuujou.

"'Sharingan'?" asked Sasuke, getting more curious everytime this was brought up.

"And it is said you appreciate the finer points and ascetics of the female form," said Kyuujou.

"There may be some truth to that," admitted Kakashi.

"Hah! That's a bowl of ramen you owe me!" said Naruto to Sasuke.

"No, he hasn't indicated for sure," said Sasuke.

"What?" asked Kakashi.

"Sasuke was sure you were gynophobic," said Naruto.

"Oh really?" asked Kakashi.

"No," said Sasuke. "Naruto has it wrong."

"I would hope so," commented Kakashi.

"I was pretty sure you just spent all your time reading porn and never actually bothering any real women," said Sasuke. "I've heard it discussed."

"...what?" asked Kakashi, pausing for a few moments. Did people really say that about him?

"Heck, everyone's heard rumors like THAT," said Naruto. "Doesn't mean it's true."

Kakashi considered that for a moment before turning to the old man. "So, is that judge position still open?"

"Sure is," said the old man.

"So I'll be the judge of the adult division," said Kakashi, sounding intrigued. "Oh, and Sasuke here has exceptional vision too. I think he should be a judge for the Junior Division."

"What?" asked Sasuke, looking almost as if he'd been slapped.

"I thought you'd appreciate me getting a little payback, seeing how you value that sort of thing," said Kakashi.

"Point," agreed Sasuke.

"Now, come along, and I'll outline our other plans."

* * *

><p>"Nagumo? You heard?"<p>

"Ah, Bittersmith. I was just looking for you. About the dragon? Yes, saw it myself. More to the point I saw three riders on the dragon. They were going so fast and so high that all I could really make out was their coloration, and one had the most kami-awful orange jumpsuit."

"Well, that should make them easy to find at least. Have you seen Shizuku?"

"She's here? Fate that one of the living sacrifices is here when the dragon returns."

.

* * *

><p>Kakashi looked over his three genin. Or at least two genin and a shadow clone that was acting a bit... girlish.<p>

"Naruto, why is this particular clone..." Kakashi tried to find a way to put it.

"Something weird happened when I tried the Centerfold Jutsu, Kakashi-sensei," said Naruto. "I thought it would be okay if a shadow clone did it."

"Yeah? What's wrong with me?" asked the sexy female shadow clone of Naruto.

"You're walking different, your speech patterns have changed, and you're acting very different," noted Kakashi. "Then there's your clothes."

"Well, I can't wear all orange, Kakashi-sensei," said Naruto-clone. "It really doesn't go with my coloration."

"Uhm," said Naruto. "I thought you weren't wearing it so that you would look more different from me."

"Well, that too, but honestly, you ought to invest in some local clothes too," said Naruto-clone. "After all, it's pretty darn hot. Wardrobe Change No Jutsu can only get you so far."

"Point," agreed Kakashi, but still getting a very weird vibe off the clone. "It's getting to late evening, so that's a concern for tomorrow morning. Right now I want all three of you to scout the area. There's some oddities about this situation."

"Such as?" asked Naruto.

"Sea monsters normally stay away from this area," said Kakashi. "I don't know why, but I haven't heard of them in this area before. Then there's supposed to be some ancient cult here or out on Okitsushima Island. All I've heard about it is that they sacrifice maidens, metaphorically. We'll need to see if the sea monsters are actually because someone's removing the metaphor part."

"Human sacrifice? So Sakura's in danger?" asked Naruto.

"No, but that brings me to my next point though, I'm going to be keeping an eye on Sakura," said Kakashi. "My stealth skills are just better than either of you. Yes, including you Naruto-clone. If any of you run into trouble, use those short-range headsets and head towards the hotel Sakura will be staying at. The Golden Lion."

"Lion's Pride Inn," said Naruto-clone.

"Excuse me?" asked Kakashi.

"Lion's Pride Inn - it's the one that the contestants in Junior division are staying at," said Naruto-clone. "It was on a sign back where we passed Sakura."

"Interesting, it's named after a fictional inn from Icha Icha volume 1," said Kakashi thoughtfully. "I wonder."

"Kakashi-sensei," said Naruto-clone, rolling her eyes. "She's twelve."

"True," admitted Kakashi, sounding disappointed. "Anyway, go find out what you can, Meet me there by twenty-one hundred."

* * *

><p>Shizuku blinked as she saw the three kids walk by, noting the forehead protectors that indicated that they were Konohagakure ninja. A brooding-looking boy, and a younger brother with older sister. An older guy following behind the three.<p>

The three separated after their handler said something to them. Going off in different directions.

Shizuku allowed herself a brief fantasy of being able to act like a normal girl and playing tour guide. After all, these were ninjas if kids not too far off in age from herself. She'd never see them again after all...

"Excuse me!"

Shizuku managed to bite down the feminine shriek and avoid performing a counter-attack. As soon as she caught her breath, and her heartrate went down, she turned.

It was the young blonde boy, looking a little surprised. "Uhm, sorry. Didn't mean to startle you. You know this area right?"

Shizuku blinked for a moment, then put aside her usual mask to smile at the boy. If her kami saw fit to give her a break and grant this selfish wish of hers, why not enjoy it? "Sure? You need a guide?"

* * *

><p>It was the clone who reached him first, just about twenty thirty. Wearing what looked like the sort of outfit a normal girl playing tennis might wear.<p>

"It's going to get VERY hot here tomorrow, Kakashi-sensei," said the Naruto-clone. "I picked you up something to wear to blend in more."

"I'm not exactly known for being a slave to fashion," said Kakashi. He nonetheless took the floral print silk shirt and pants, though he also wondered how the clone knew his sizes.

"Boy, you got THAT right," said Naruto-clone.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing!" chirped Naruto-clone with a quick salute. "I asked around. May have to do this more often as guys seem really talkative around me, though they don't really seem to want to say anything interesting. Mainly stuff about where they come from and what they do for a living and stuff like that. Still, I figure I found out most of the people don't live around here and are just tourists."

"Naruto, are you really okay?" asked Kakashi.

"Ever since the bloodline activated, my shadow clones have been a little off," admitted the Naruto female clone. "Same with the Centerfold jutsu. But I kinda got used to it after awhile."

"Is that so?" asked Kakashi.

"Do you know they've got a chilled noodle dish here?" asked Naruto-clone. "They've also got chilled ramen. Weird but kinda tasty."

* * *

>"So you know this area?" asked Naruto.<p>"Yes, though I live... elsewhere," said Shizuku. "So you're a ninja?"<p>

"Yup!" said Naruto enthusiastically. "A genin of the Leaf Village, Naruto Uzumaki! My goal is to become Hokage!"

"Hokage's good?" asked Shizuku.

"Hokage is the leader of our village, recognized by all and protector of his village," said Naruto, then getting a puzzled expression. "You don't know that?"

"I live in a very rural area," confessed Shizuku. "I haven't really studied about different areas that much. Recognizing your headband was about as far as I know about ninjas."

"Oh," said Naruto, realizing that there were other things besides being a ninja. Which he'd KNOWN but actually meeting someone who knew nothing about ninja brought that idea home.

"So, I showed you the movie theater, the docks, the market," said Shizuku, counting off things as she walked along.

"We found you."

Naruto frowned at the three stepping out of the alley. "And you are?"

"Dealing with the lady," said the first of the three in the black robes. "Jashin has a use for you, sacrifice."

"My faith has nothing to do with your dark god," said Shizuku.

"Dark god?" asked Naruto.

"Jashin is the Lord Of Slaughter, Emperor Of Murder, Bringer Of Pain, Sultan of Suffering, Daimyo of Dentists, and Master of Torturous Death," said the lead Jashinite. "All hail Jashin!"

"All hail Jashin!" chorused the other two.

"Uhm, right," said Naruto. "Never heard of it."

"Of course you've never heard of us," said the lead Jashinite. "We are cloaked in anonyminity and ignorance!"

"And black silk," said the second Jashinite.

"Fine," said the lead Jashinite. "We are cloaked in anonyminity, ignorance, and fine black silk!"

"Yeah," chorused the other two.

"They worship a god of torture and murder," said Shizuku. "They can't understand why everyone doesn't want to immediately sign up."

"Killing you will be a good example as to why they should join now," said the lead Jashinist. "And as a special offer, we'll throw in free sacrificial knives!"

The other two brandished their knives and smiled.

"I'll pass, thank you," said Shizuku.

"Well, then I'll..." the lead Jashinist thrust his blade forward only to have the orange-clad kid grab his hand. "Do you mind? This is the fun part."

Naruto grinned and tightened his grip. Maybe he wasn't as strong in human form as in dragon, but he wasn't exactly weak.

The lead Jashinist tried not to scream as the knife-holding hand was suddenly being subjected to pressure levels not exactly recommended for human bodyparts. As it was he went to his kneee and gritting teeth.

"I think the lady wants you to leave her alone," said Naruto. "I think that's a good idea. What do you guys think?"

"You cannot intimidate a Jashinite with your brute tactics!" declared the second Jashinite.

"Our weapons include fearlessness, bloodthirsty sadism, and a complete disregard for personal hygiene!" declared the third.

"That's 'personal safety'," corrected the second.

"Right, our weapons include anonyminity, ignorance, fine black silk, fearlessness, bloodthirsty sadism, and a complete disregard for personal safety!" said the third.

"I see," said Naruto, letting go of the first's hand, then prying the knife out of it. Then folding the knife up. What made an impression on the three Jashinites was that it was NOT a folding knife.

Shizuru merely stared at what the boy was doing.

"Beach is that way?" asked Naruto of Shizuru.

Shizuru visibly shook herself, considered, and nodded.

* * *

><p>Sasuke was considering how best to go about his search. He didn't really have much experience with the whole 'run around looking for clues' thing.<p>

If only something would stick out as being noteworthy.

"!" _SPLASH!_

Sasuke's eyes tracked the guy in black robes making an arc out over several buildings, then landing out in the water.

Sasuke considered that for a moment, then carefully stepped out of the way.

"!" _THUD!_

"Good thing that sand is soft, ne?" asked Sasuke of the guy flattened on the beach.

"Not. That. Soft," managed the guy in the same black robes as the first one.

"!" _SPLISH!_

"Naruto," realized Sasuke, judging from the amount of strength shown versus the lousy aim.

"Ung," said the one on the beach, as opposed to the one in the surf or the one bobbing in the waves.

"Tell you what," said Sasuke, kneeling down. "I'll get some medical help for you, but first I think I need a few questions answered."

* * *

>"Naruto, Sasuke," said Kakashi with a nod. "Any information?"<p>"Hn," said Sasuke. "There's a cult of a god named 'Jashin' who came here after the first few monster attacks. Apparently they then heard about this dragon cult and decided to take it over."<p>

"So this cult isn't behind the attacks?" asked Kakashi.

"No, though the ones I interrogated weren't sure if a higher level operative of theirs might have started it," said Sasuke. "Apparently they were lower level within the cult and not told all the details."

"Good job, Sasuke," admitted Kakashi. "I wasn't aware you had interrogation skills."

"I just threatened to re-introduce them to Naruto if they didn't talk," answered Sasuke with a shrug. He glanced at Naruto, directing his next comment there. "Next time: ask questions first, toss bad guys second."

"Oh," said Naruto. "Oops."

"Cool," said Naruto-female-clone, giving Sasuke a thumb's up. "We rock. I set 'em up, you shake 'em down, ne?"

"Can you just go ahead and dispel for the night?" asked Kakashi. "I'm getting a little concerned."

"If I have to," said the clone a little reluctantly, who then poofed away.

Naruto staggered and made a couple of wretching noises.

"And THAT is why I suggest dispelling your shadow clone more regularly," said Kakashi.

"Oh... man... that was..." Naruto gagged some more.

"If you're going to throw up, don't face me," said Sasuke, showing remarkable concern. Well, for Sasuke.

"While Naruto deals with that, anything else to go on?" asked Kakashi.

* * *

><p>Shizuku Narumi considered the boy she'd been able to talk with briefly. It had been... nice.<p>

She hadn't had to wear the usual mask, displaying the calm dignity and presence that she had to as one of the three Maidens. After all, he was an outsider she would never see again - and therefore it was all right to just put that role aside and be a normal girl for once.

It had been interesting too, as it gave her a glimpse into a very different lifestyle.

She had had no idea that ninja were as physically strong and tough as the boy had been. To crumple a knife like that without so much as a scratch on his skin when he was done - very impressive. She was sure the Jashinites had thought it equally impressive.

A frown crossed her face. With the Jashinites around here, she should just go back to Okitsushima and only return when the contest started and the three Maidens would give their ritual blessing for the event.

At least she'd gotten this brief afternoon.

* * *

><p>"I hurt," said one of the Jashinites.<p>

"Lord Jashin laughs at pain," replied one of the other Jashinites.

"Well, Lord Jashin must find this quite amusing."

"A kid. A kid who was all of fifteen. Tossed us around like sacks of grain."

"Kid was a ninja."

The leader of the three made an acknowledging sound. "I don't know about you three, but I can't throw a sack of grain over four houses and another thirty yards besides."

The other two made agreeable noises this time.

"We'll need to contact one of the higher-ups within the priesthood," continued the leader thoughtfully. "We can take those shrine priestesses easy. Ninja, on the other hand, that's a bit of another story."

"How's your hand?" asked the second Jashinite.

"Kid didn't break anything, but it hurts like the blazes," said the leader.

"So," said the third slowly, as if testing each word before speaking. "Who do we contact?"

"Look for pink hair," said the leader. "I heard Rossignol went rebellious and dyed her hair before she left. So Satsubatsu will be around somewhere, keeping an eye on his little sister so that she doesn't betray any secrets."

"Why not simply kill her?" asked the second.

"Idiot," said the third. "It's when she WINS that she'll be a worthy sacrifice to Jashin."

* * *

><p>Satsubatsu, not his original name which had been Alain, watched carefully.<p>

His sister, little brat that she was, WAS his sister. Rossignol normally had dark purplish hair, perhaps a shade lighter than black. She'd gone pink when she'd gone rebellious against his authority, then discovered that hadn't worked too well with her natural hair color. So she was now a lighter shade of purple.

If she won the contest, she would be a worthy sacrifice to Jashin. If she did not, then perhaps whoever DID win the contest would make a suitable sacrifice.

Though this rumor that Kakashi Hatake, famed Copy Nin, was here with a team of genin was concerning. The genin were no consequence to someone of his level, but Sharingan Kakashi was another story altogether.

Fortunately, this appeared to be one of the years that Jiraiya was not attending. If he HAD been, that might have become a problem.

* * *

>Jiraiya set the bags down and stretched out his arms and shoulders. "Ah, Fortune Beach. White sands. Nubile sun-kissed bodies with little pieces of cloth barely covering anything at all. How I've missed you."<p>He'd set one of the early Icha Icha books here, and he knew he was always welcome. Well, in some parts at least. Yet he didn't want to have old enemies or foreign-nin lying in wait for him here, so he only visited every five years or so.<p>

Oh, and couldn't forget the pineapple-glazed ham. Sliced thin and roasted over an open fire. Ah yes, he was SO looking forward to this trip.

He had an open invitation to be on the panel of judges for the Miss Beach contest, and this year he was going to just go ahead an take it. He prided himself on having a discerning eye for the ladies after all.

* * *

><p>"My lady, maybe we should lie low for awhile," suggested Shizune.<p>

"You see that, Shizune?" asked Tsunade, pointing at a sign.

"The 'Miss Beach' contest?" asked Shizune. "Honestly. A beauty contest in this day and age? How backward and sexist does a community have to be in order to fund one of those things? Why would any woman sign up for being displayed like some produce at the market?"

"Look at the prizes," said Tsunade.

Shizune looked closer. "Oh. Well, that explains why someone would sign up for it. That's like a B-Class mission payment."

"Yes, and that's just the Junior division," said Tsunade as she made a hand seal. _Ba-DOMF!_

"My lady?" said Shizune, seeing the transformation and coming to an uncomfortable conclusion.

The younger Tsunade adjusted her clothing. "Lady Luck, come on, apprentice needs a new pair of shoes."

"True, you DID hock mine at the last gambling house," said Shizune, looking mournfully at her feet.

"Ah, it'll toughen you up," said Tsunade, making a gesture. "Come on."

* * *

><p>Yugito Ni placed the bundle in the little hole and then wrestled the rocks over it. With that done she straightened up and glanced towards the beach.<p>

She went over her carrycase and equipment one last time, making sure she had EVERYTHING she needed.

If all went well, she would be able to meet Jiraiya of the Leaf Village and get a few details out of him. If he knew she were a kunoichi of Cloud he'd be on his guard instantly of course. Just a random girl in the contest though - that might allow her to get close enough to get information from him. Since he was known to have a weakness for the ladies, this was a case where guile and a little drinking contest might work where strength wouldn't. As she was a jinchuriki, alcohol had a tendency to get burned out of her system quickly.

Satisfied that nobody would be able to tell who she was, unless they were a chakra sensor or something, Yugito headed towards Fortune Beach.

* * *

><p>"Don't fail this mission," said the chunin, vanishing abruptly.<p>

"Yeah yeah," grumbled Fuu. "What are you going to do to me if I DO fail, moron?"

Fuu of Takigakure let out a deep breath, squared her shoulders and began the walk. Fortune Beach. This was the five year mark so Jiraiya would be here. He would also be a judge. That meant this was an opportunity to ferret out information that the old monkey might have on him.

Well, she was just a disposable monster as far as her own village was concerned. Why not throw her at the old monkey, to steal his secrets?

Whatever. A beauty contest? What kind of stupid village enters a kunoichi in a beauty contest? Honestly, there were times she just wanted to go wild and trash the place.

Huh. Maybe that was why she was being given some OTHER village to trash.

* * *

><p>"Hi, are you here for the contest?"<p>

Sakura blinked as she found some girl leaning in her doorway. "Uhm."

"Hi, I'm Karin Nagumo," said the short-haired girl. "I saw your name on the register and had to ask..."

"No relation," Sakura assured the girl. "You're the fifth one to ask. Maybe I should just put a sign up."

"This is your first competition, right?" asked Karin.

"You can tell?" asked Sakura, wondering if she was blowing her first undercover assignment.

"Yeah," said Karin. "Anyway, I'm one of the local Shrine Maidens, not a contestant. You're going to have to watch your back a bit better. Lock your door. Some of the other contestants can get a bit vicious."

Sakura blinked as she looked over the clothing of the newcomer and tried to compare it to the single other shrine maiden she knew. It didn't quite jibe. "Uh huh. You're a shrine maiden?"

"Yeah, for one of the nearby islands, it's an old tradition," said Karin. "There's the Maiden Of Fire, Maiden Of Wind, and the Maiden of Water. Anyway, I heard that one of the Three Legendary Leaf Ninja is here - Jiraiya. However he's also pretty legendary for peeking at contestants. He doesn't bother the girls in your age bracket much, but thought I ought to give you a head's up."

* * *

><p>Rossignol frowned from her perch on the fourth floor stairway.<p>

From here she could observe a number of the comings and goings and get a feel for her competition.

There were some seriously attractive women in the Adult category, but there were also some cute ones in the Junior division.

A fair fight was something she really wasn't inclined to put up with.

It was made more complicated with the glimpse of her brother she'd gotten yesterday. Alain had joined some crazy cult. If she wasn't careful, her family ties might just strangle her in the middle of the night.

* * *

>AUTHOR'S NOTES:<p>Not sure how long i'll continue this. As might be obvious to some readers, there's a degree of fusion with Umi No Misaki involved. Which, despite being an H-manga, i found myself enjoying for its character development and humor. It's available at Mangafox for those old enough to read it. <p>


	3. Chapter 3: Keri's encounter

**Spiral Dragon**

by Greylle

DISCLAIMER: Original series belong to someone else.  
>NOTE: Bit of a fusion with Umi No Misaki, a little (one character) from World Of Warcraft. (if you're on Bronzebeard server, say hello to Ryouga)<p>

Spiral Dragon, part three: Keri's Encounter

_Konohagakure:_  
>She sat, legs folded tailor-fashion, in the shrine offices.<p>

Willow-bark Tea heated on a pot nearby but that was not her current concern.

She was genuinely trying to do this 'Shrine Maiden' job, which was the local Priest class as she understood it.

It was bound to be difficult in some respects. There were some differences between her prior existence and this one, some subtle. Others not subtle at all.

As Keristrasza she'd been in the service of Alexstrasza and an Aspect of the Red Dragonflight. The reds were, unlike those she'd heard about from those D&D universes, noble guardians of life and sacred sites. Things had gone well in her fight, until Malygos had turned everything completely wrong that is. She'd died, and without the help of someone entirely outside the set of universes that included Azeroth and the Scourge - that would have been that. Since one such HAD gotten involved, here she was.

Shapechanging to human form was not entirely comfortable. She felt constrained in some respects, though her strength and physical durability were less than in her full form - they remained considerably higher than was normal for even trained ninja. Likewise her chakra, different from but similar to the mana of her previous form, was also quite developed.

Keri was simply concentrating on breathing for now. An old meditative and focussing exercise, and it would avail her well now. Get back to basics, and everything else would fall into place.

Keri winced as her wards were disturbed. Six, with only two bothering to approach openly. All six bore strong taints. If this had been Azeroth, they'd likely be servants of the Lich-King or the Scourge or some such. Here the enemies didn't necessarily declare themselves so handily.

"Fuss and bother," said Keri to the empty meditation room. "The tea was almost ready."

Well, she'd just have to finish before it got cold again.

* * *

><p><em>Fortune Beach:<em>  
><em>What's happening with my clones?<em> asked Naruto of himself, attempting to dive deep and converse with the fox.

Instead he found himself in the cave he'd met the dragon in, with the lettering engraved in the walls pulsing. First one section would fade into flickering light, then those would fade and another section would flicker into life.

"Okay, this is different," said Naruto to the empty room. "I thought I was going to visit the fox."

The room didn't answer.

Naruto settled down and tried again.

* * *

><p><em>Konohagakure, Hiryu Shrine:<em>  
>Keri took the teapot off the flame, giving the cup a wistful look. "Always happens when you're bathing or setting down to a meal." THAT part hadn't changed. Truly had the magician Murphy of Goldshire nailed that observation of the multiverse's workings.<p>

The door shuffed open.

"You, woman. You need to come with us," demanded the masked nin.

"No," said Keri.

"Are you blind, we're ANBU," said one of the masked nin.

"No, you're not," said Keri. "You're ROOT."

The two in the doorway went still. The four concealed ones were already still but tensed slightly.

"Amateurs," muttered Keri, shaking her head.

"ROOT was disbanded years ago," said the one who had spoken earlier.

"ROOT went underground," said Keri, rolling her eyes. "I imagine that pun has already been done to death though. Don't bother me, I won't bother you. Is that simple enough for your boss to understand?"

"How dare you?" asked the first, reaching for a kunai.

"I suppose a demonstration of power is necessary," said Keri, shaking her head. "Pity though. My apologies to the families of those who pass on."

"What are you..." began the speaker for the group.

Keri just made a pass in the air, except that the air glowed briefly in a trail left by that hand.

Two ninja screamed.

"Genjutsu!" concluded the visible one who hadn't spoken earlier as he saw two of his fellows land on the ground, clawing at their throats.

Keri shrugged. "Close enough I suppose. Listen up. I'll offer you the same offer I made the Hokage. You don't interfere with me, I don't interfere with you. My sole reason for being here is for the sake of my 'cousin' - Naruto Uzumaki. Mess with him, mess with me, and I mess with you. Invade the village or something like that, and I will rise up and trust me boyos - you don't want that."

A kunai was thrown at her, it struck her directly in the forehead. It fell to the ground, bent at the tip.

Keri favored the thrower with a very disappointed look. The two ninja on the ground stopped moving.

The speaker looked at the kunai then back at her. "Monster!"

"Child," said Keri to the speaker. "You have NO idea."

* * *

><p><em>Mindscape:<em>  
>"<strong>How should I know, brat?<strong>" rumbled the Kyubi.

"It isn't your doing?" asked Naruto, not entirely believing it.

"**Idiot! You're a dragon! What do I know about dragons?**"

"Oh," said Naruto simply.

"**Yes. 'Oh.'**" The Kyubi sniffed around the bars of his prison. "**I finally get a host worthy of my power, not a weak fleshbag, and he's an idiot amongst his kind. What did I do to deserve this karma?**"

"Kill lots of innocent people?" asked Naruto.

"**It's what I do. Natural as breathing is to you.**" The fox paused though, the usual angry expression turning momentarily thoughtful.

"Well, if you don't know, how the heck do I figure it out?" asked Naruto.

"**No clue. Not my problem. Go away. My soap operas are starting.**"

"Eh?" asked Naruto, having heard something unexpected.

A dark chuckle echoed through the cavern before Naruto abruptly found himself shoved out.

"**Ah, I wonder if Etsuko will realize that Midori is sleeping with Kennosuke who is actually Sachiko who is a kitsune running about sowing chaos and mischief. Damn these things are addictive.**"

* * *

><p><em>Fortune Beach:<em>  
>Jimo swore as he settled down in the tavern. Nice little place this was. Beach town well away from Konohagakure.<p>

He was safe here.

Only dragons around were the fictional legendary kind and he was quite happy to keep them fictional and legendary and not bloody well EATING HIS TEAM! Now he had to find more missing-nin to replace them.

What a bother.

* * *

><p><em>Somewhere under Konohagakure:<em>  
>Danzo looked down at the survivors of his little group. "Do you care to explain why you attacked her instead of just sounding out this mysterious priestess?"<p>

"She doesn't intimidate, Danzo-sama," answered that heavily bandaged ninja.

"You're saying that one civilian shrine-priestess did this?" asked Danzo.

"She's a monster, Danzo-sama," answered the least injured of the group. "She's not human."

Danzo considered this briefly. Maybe he should visit in person? That way he could see exactly what he was dealing with. He'd known she wasn't a simple priestess just from the reports of the Hokage's interest. Everything he'd turned up since then had only reinforced that.

Or maybe he could just send Homura and Koharu. A comment or two speculating about the Hokage's interest in the woman should have the two investigating in short order.

At which point a shadow that shouldn't have been there moved.

Danzo just KNEW he wouldn't like this. "Why am I surrounded by incompetents?"

"Because you want loyalty more than intelligence or adaptiveness," said the woman as she stepped out of the shadows.

Naturally, two of his ROOT members launched themselves at her. She was almost casual, no, she WAS casual as she backhanded the two into unconsciousness.

"Is there a reason you tracked me down and assault my personnel?" asked Danzo, reaching out with the powers of a particular eye to influence this young woman.

"Yes, and trying to control me IS what is annoying," said the shrine priestess. "Stop it, Danzo. I know about ROOT. What's more to the point - I don't care."

Danzo frowned as he dropped the technique. "What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly that," said the shrine maiden. "Don't bother me, I won't bother you. My agreement with the Hokage is that I will help defend this village from outside threats, but take no hand in your politics unless my cousin is threatened."

"I see," said Danzo. "What exactly are you?"

"The head priestess of the Hiryu Shrine," said Keri.

"I'm sure," said Danzo after a moment. Whatever or whoever she was, she would bear keeping an eye on. However, he was going to make sure that the minions knew this was a do-not-approach duty. If she became a problem, he would deal with her then.

As it was, he knew he couldn't influence her with a Sharingan and her skills had to be considerable. He also noted that the two on the floor were not dead but were quite definitely unconscious. So, someone he could possibly make deals with, as long as he was careful.

* * *

><p>"Screw this," said Naruto eventually, deciding that he was NOT in a restful meditative mood and also NOT accomplishing anything. "I need to train."<p>

Most of the buildings in Fortune Beach were low-built, two floors at most. There was a small cluster of buildings that were taller, but even those topped out at four floors in height.

Naruto found himself on top of one of those, pondering the building across the street, and debating the wisdom of a little late-night monster hunting as training to see if THAT burned off some nervous energy.

_Shuff!_ went a nearby window.

Naruto naturally turned towards the sound and found himself looking at a short-haired girl. Who had just opened the window. And was currently naked. And staring back at him.

"Okay," admitted Naruto aloud. "I wasn't expecting that."

The girl in question unfroze and started screaming about perverts.

By the time she looked again, the blonde boy was gone.

* * *

><p>"Peeper! Ecchi! Hentai!" yelled Karin out the window.<p>

"What is it now?" asked a much younger girl with glasses as she came out of the bathroom.

"There was some kid in orange on that roof! Neenee, he was totally peeping on me!" exclaimed Karin, pointing.

"You're naked," pointed out Rinne Nagumo.

"Yes! He saw me naked!" agreed Karin.

"And you didn't draw the curtains and you're standing in front of an open window," pointed out Rinne.

"I..." began Karin. She considered that, considered the window, considered that she was still naked. "WAGH!"

Rinne went over to the window and drew the curtains. "Such a troublesome sister."

"Uhm, well," said Karin as she tried to dress quickly and got her shirt on inside-out.

"Orange?" asked Rinne as something occurred to her. "I wonder..."

* * *

><p>Naruto came to a stop near the shoreline, wondering why women seemed to give Sasuke the benefit of any doubt but not him. Just another area where life was totally unfair.<p>

"Damn it, I need answers!" yelled Naruto at the waves.

"**That would depend on the question.**"

Naruto blinked and looked around, seeing a small lizard who seemed to be watching the moon. "Excuse me?"

"**Fine,**" said the lizard, spreading wings briefly. "**You're excused.**"

"You're that big dragon," realized Naruto. "Except you're small."

"**Obvious, isn't it?**"

"Why are you here?" asked Naruto.

"**Checking out this dragon cult,**" said the miniaturized dragon. "**It seems a bit odd.**"

"Oh. How'd you get so small?" asked Naruto.

"**The spell 'Reduce' halves your size. If you cast it twice on yourself, you become one-quarter your original size. I had to cast it a bit more than twice but it is easier to observe things this way.**"

"Wow, that'd be handy," realized Naruto. Since he was over fifty feet long, he was definitely an outdoorsy sort of dragon.

"**Yes, hard to observe anything if the natives are reacting as if you were Godzilla or some such. The whole screaming-and-running thing. Say what you will about dragons in our majestic natural form, but low-profile doesn't exactly fit. You do have that ability, by the way.**"

"I do?" asked Naruto.

"**The spells, or jutsu, you can perform through draconic magic are simple ones. They include Reduce and Enlarge at your current age level. Enlarge doubles your size, by the way.**"

"That sounds interesting," mused Naruto, thinking of potential uses for both.

"**Draconic magic of that sort renews itself daily. At your current growth, you can deplete your reservoir of that magic by casting such a spell up to four times. So, by using that magic four times - you could go from fifty four feet (you're still growing you know) to roughly three feet and a third.**"

"Oh," said Naruto. "So, do you know what's going on with my shadow clones?"

"**'Shadow clones'?**"

"Yeah, they're acting weird and doing stuff," complained Naruto.

"**'Stuff'**"

"Yeah," acknowledged Naruto.

"**Hasn't Keri told you anything?**"

"Not much," said Naruto.

"**Child, you must learn and unlock your abilities on your own. I have other concerns and matters that dominate my attention. You are now the Dragon of Prophesy, but even so there are many ninja whose power outstrips your own.**"

"I don't have a freakin' manual now, do I?" asked Naruto, getting peeved.

"**The lettering in the cave? Hello? Why didn't you use your Comprehend Languages ability?**"

"Compreh... I got that?"

Naruto was treated to the sight of an ancient (though miniature-sized) dragon beating his head against a large rock. The rock splintered on the first such strike and just began powdering at the point of impact thereafter.

"**Child. You are a dragon. Your chakra is more dense and powerful than a human's chakra. You also have more of it than a human normally does. Of course you're not going to get the standard results out of a jutsu. That isn't even going into the prisoner sealed away in your belly currently watching soap operas.**"

"So..."

"**So your shadow clones being copies of your human form share the toughness, uprated strength, and increased stamina of that form. It takes a very solid hit to dispel one. Also, because of the potency of your chakra, there are going to be side-effects. It will take you some time yet before you fully assimilate being a dragon. I suspect many of your problems of this nature will pass at that point. Fare thee well, little dragon.**"

"Wait! You're just leaving?" asked Naruto as the little dragon began fading out. "I still got questions!"

"**Keri will have many of the answers you seek. The lair you have fashioned from my former prison will provide others. This is now your story, hatchling. Oh, and remember that when you choose to imbue a mate and give her your Heart - you'll be weakened for at least a week while you recover.**"

"What?" asked Naruto. "Mate?"

The dragon spread its wings and flew off, fading further as it did so. Then it was gone.

"Crap," said Naruto, considering what to do. It sounded like the answers he needed were back in Konoha. In the meantime, he had this mission.

* * *

><p>"Innkeep!" demanded Alain, who was considering a namechange as his name under the service of Jashin (Satsubatsu) did NOT roll off the tongue as he'd hoped.<p>

"Yeah?" asked the hotel keeper, who was less than thrilled with the fellow already.

"I doth require thy finest room," said Alain.

"The 'No Vacancy' sign 'doth' be lit," said the guy at the front desk.

"Then hurl some base-born knave into the street that the noble servant of Jashin be moved into that room," demanded Alain.

The guy at the front desk pointed at the 'No Murder Cultists Allowed' sign.

"What?" asked Alain, noting that said sign was directly under one that proclaimed that 'Ganking Is Not Allowed' and that apparently 'You Break/Slay/Possess/Destroy It, You Pay For It.' "What manner of low-class establishment hath thou here?"

The man behind the front desk finished jotting something out and then revealed it was a new sign.

'The Management Reserves The Right To Refuse Service To Anyone. Especially Cultist Assassins, Those Who Traffic With Especially Unnatural Things, and Idiots.'

"Fie on thee," said Alain. He'd have to watch his sister from a distance it appeared. Well enough, he'd find someplace a little more upclass than this dump.

* * *

>The storm hit around 2am.<p>Winds gusted to about 45mph and were coming off the water. The rain itself was fairly hard, causing Naruto to close the windows to their room as he settled in for the night.<p>

Sasuke awoke once during the first rumbling crash of thunder, but then turned over and fell asleep again immediately.

Naruto found something oddly comforting in the storm, and so left the window ajar but with a bit of ninja-wire across it tied to a small bell. Just in case.

It felt comforting somehow to trap their lair, if just a temporary lair.

Naruto finally slept, and dreamed of blue clear skies and leathern wings.

* * *

><p>Sakura shivered at the change in temperatures and got up to shut the window.<p>

"Whew, you my roomie?" asked someone as she came in from the hallway.

"You're another contestant?" asked Sakura.

"Yes," said the woman, cocking a hip and grinning. "They pair up one from Junior division and one from Adult to save on space. I'm Anko Mitarashi, by the way."

"Sakura Haruno," said Sakura, eyeing the woman and glad she didn't have to compete. "No relation to the Haruno family from the Village Of Wild Women. At least I hope not. With a name like that..."

"Eh, they're actually fairly tame," said Anko with a shrug. "By my standards at least."

"You got in just in time," said Sakura, going back to her bed and flopping down to sit on it. "Sounds pretty bad out there."

"I've been in worse," said Anko, without elaborating further.

Insane laughter wafted in on the breeze.

Sakura twitched. "What was that?"

"No idea," said Anko, who then grinned. "Sounds like this year's contest will be more interesting than last year's."

* * *

><p>Shizune frowned out at the night. "My lady?"<p>

"Whatever that was, it wasn't human," said Tsunade, in her "middle school age" form. She quickly went through a set of hand-seals. "Summoning."

A brief puff of smoke heralded the arrival of a slug the size of her arm. "You rang?"

"I need some surveillance," said Tsunade, nodding towards the window. "Preferably without breaking my cover."

"Hiding from debtors again?" asked Katsuyu, managing to sound quite long-suffering.

"Never mind that," said Tsunade.

"Very well," said Katsuyu, rippling in a shrug-equivelant before exiting out the window.

"Katsuyu isn't very fast," noted Shizune.

Tsunade waited until Katsuyu had divided and sent her copies out further. "Yes, but if there's something out there - the rain won't bother her and the smaller copies can be easily overlooked in these conditions."

* * *

><p>Anko ignored the peasant girl behind her, whose breathing had gradually slowed to a sleeping pace. Then she took a drop of fluid from one vial to put on a piece of cloth, then applied that drop to directly under the girl's nose. The pinkette stirred but didn't awaken, now thoroughly asleep due to the drug.<p>

Satisfied with that, Anko went through the girl's bags, disabling the trap with a smirk. When she ran across the forehead protector, she simply shook her head once, then started putting everything back as she'd found it.

_So, a Leaf genin, probably on her first undercover mission,_ mused Anko. _Oh, can I have some fun with this setup. Too bad Kurenai couldn't make it._

Sakura chose that moment to start snoring.

After putting her kunai back where she'd hidden them, Anko forced herself to relax and look back out at the rain. The occasional flash of lightning illuminated darn little.

That laugh... hadn't sounded human. Too high pitched, too loud, too "off" for what would be a human throat.

Yup, this year looked to be interesting. Without Kurenai to compete against, she just might win this year too.

* * *

><p>The storm moved on just before dawn.<p>

Just after dawn, the destruction was discovered.

"Which room was it?"

"222! Window was smashed in, both girls are missing."

"Oh fuss and bother."

"Nobody heard anything?"

"In THAT storm? Not a chance."

Sakura woke up at the first yell, checked to make sure her bags hadn't been disturbed, then listened in. Her roomie was apparently still asleep. And smelling of strong drink.

* * *

>Sakura WANTED to investigate. Unfortunately, she had her orders. Maintaining cover meant she could investigate - but not obviously and not going into detail.<p>A young non-ninja girl who might be a little stronger than the average farmhand - that was her cover.<p>

"Hey, 'average farmgirl'?" asked Anko. "You up to a little morning run?"

"Run?" asked Sakura.

"Yeah, got to keep in shape," said Anko. "Swimsuit competition."

"Ah, right," said Sakura, nodding.

Anko nodded at the girl before they got ready. That a brisk run around the town would allow her to see what other damage might have been done - and torment the younger kunoichi - well, it was nice to combine tasks and get them all done at once, wasn't it?

* * *

><p>Tsunade slept. It was still early yet.<p>

That left Shizune to investigate. Fortunately, she was just a competitor in the beach contest, nobody knew who she was.

"Shizune?"

"Kakashi?" asked Shizune.

Kakashi left the rubble-filled room to meet the kunoichi in the hallway. "What are you..."

"I'm just a contestant in the contest," said Shizune, using a quick set of hand-signals to indicate 'Undercover' and 'Hiding.'

"Ah, that explains it," said Kakashi, using a quick hand-signal for 'Talk Later.' "I'm here with a genin team to protect civilians like yourself."

"Did a good job last night," said Shizune, taking a glance back at the room.

"The rain made things difficult," admitted Kakashi. "My team is not very experienced and lacks special senses or sensory jutsu that can overcome a downpour like that. At the moment."

"I'm sure the two girls who were killed here find that so much comfort," said Shizune.

"Actually, they're still alive," Kakashi said.

"How can you tell?" asked Shizune.

"Ninja secret," said Kakashi, smiling behind his mask.

* * *

><p>"So... you can track by scent?" asked Sasuke as he ran along the roofs.<p>

"Sorta kinda," admitted Naruto as he leapt to another roof. "Not real well though, and the trail ends right at the window. Not enough to tell much. Eyesight's better than sense of smell."

"An Inuzuka could have tracked despite the rain," pointed out Sasuke as they both landed on the same roof and ran across it before leaping to the next.

"I ain't an Inuzuka," said Naruto, a little testily. "It ain't like I got training in the whole sniff-track stuff either, you know."

Sasuke smirked. "So what are we looking for?"

"You forgot?" asked Naruto, stumbling slightly on landing.

"No, but you were such a dobe in the Academy I thought you might have," said Sasuke.

"Ha freaking ha," said Naruto. "We're looking for any further areas that might have been shielded from the rain and checking for their scent. That'd give us a direction."

"And if they changed direction after leaving this village?" asked Sasuke.

"Footprints in the mud or other tracks," finished Naruto. "Third year Academy stuff."

"You actually remember the third year? I'm impressed - your kekkei genkai actually put a brain in there. Somewhere."

"Screw you, teme."

* * *

><p><em>If Shizune is here, then Tsunade is here,<em> pondered Kakashi as he left the crime-scene to catch up with his two students. He was quite aware of Naruko, reformed and changed a little, leaping nearby.

"Why that outfit?" asked Kakashi eventually.

"Why not?" asked Naruko.

"Yesterday you were showing a lot more skin," said Kakashi, "but actually the armor isn't bad."

"Eh, well, we're monster-hunting aren't we?" asked Naruko. "I wouldn't want to wear a good swimsuit when we're hunting something that might get monster slobber on it."

"You're worried about ruining your clothes?" asked Kakashi.

"Don't make a lot of money, Kakashi-sensei," said Naruko, pouting slightly.

"Where'd you get that anyway? Is there a ninja-armorer in town?" asked Kakashi after a few moments.

"There is, but I can't afford much. Nah, this is something Aunt Keri had packed in a scroll," said Naruko. "I think this is a subtle way of saying she doesn't approve of the Oiroke."

"Ah," said Kakashi. "Well, at ten we have a meeting we've got to attend, so let's try to wrap up by then."

* * *

><p>Naruto lightly landed on the ground, landing directly behind Sasuke. A moment later his femme-clone and Kakashi were both standing there as well. Not that he was paying as much attention at that point.<p>

"Yo! Shizuku!" yelled Naruto, waving his hand and grinning.

The girl in question stared at him for a moment.

"Don't speak to her so flippantly!" yelled another of the three girls.

"Eh?" asked Naruto. "Aren't you the girl..."

"What?" asked the short-haired girl angrily.

"N-nothing," said Naruto realizing that maybe reminding her...

"THE PERVERT!" yelled the short-haired girl, pointing at him and kicking the anger up a notch.

"I see," said the glasses-wearing girl, moving forward.

Naruto was aware of his team moving away, observing but also not sure what was going on.

"I don't know you," said Shizuku, looking away from Naruto.

The glasses-wearing girl took a stance directly in front of Naruto and frowned at him.

"...I don't get it," said Naruto, looking around at the crowd. The contest officials and some civilians looked back and didn't give him a clue as to what was going on.

"So please, don't talk to me," said Shizuku, still turned away.

"But..." said Naruto, taking a step past the glasses-wearing girl to protest.

"You..." growled the short-haired girl, also starting forward.

Naruto realized there was a problem when the glasses-wearer grabbed his arm and shoved it into an armlock position behind his back. "Huh? Hey!"

"Don't you be so disrespectful..." began the glasses-wearer.

Naruto flexed and forced his arm out of the position it was in and then casually broke the grip. The look he turned on the now-startled glasses-wearer was not amused. "Don't YOU be so disrespectful."

"Eh, ma ma," said Kakashi with a little placating gesture. "I know he doesn't look like much, and he acts as if there's vaccuum where his brain should be, but Naruto is a ninja."

"Gee thanks," muttered Naruto.

"It's really not a good idea to start a fight with one if you can avoid it," continued Kakashi.

"He must be more formidable than he looks," said the glasses-wearer, rubbing her forearm.

"He would have to be," said the short-haired girl, who apparently decided to hold off on punishing perverts.

"Very interesting," said one of the old women in the crowd, staring at Naruto for a few moments.

* * *

>Sakura gasped and leaned against a post as her "jogging partner" went to a set of stretches.<p>"Not bad, kid," said Anko as she bent over double in a position Sakura found it hurt just to see. "Though I hear those ninja up in the Leaf Village can do a LOT better."<p>

"Oh, really?" wheezed Sakura.

"Oh yeah," said Anko, now standing on one leg while she pointed her other leg skyward. "That's what I hear."

"Well, good thing I'm just a farmgirl," muttered Sakura.

"Don't forget to shower and primp up some before the photographs today," said Anko, currently standing on her hands while her legs were arranged in a straight line that paralleled the ground.

"Photos?" asked Sakura.

"Yeah, photo shoot is today," said Anko, now standing on her hands with both feet crossed behind her neck. "We'll also need to state what we're doing for the talent portion."

"There's a 'talent portion'?" asked Sakura.

"Yeah," said Anko, "what you got?"

"Uhm, I'm not sure," said Sakura, catching her breath and not even looking at the painful pose the older woman was holding.

"Well, last year, Nai-chan sang and I did a snake-dance," said Anko from a position that Sakura considered anatomically impossible. "Nai-chan isn't here this year, so maybe I ought to come up with something else."

"I'll have to think about it," said Sakura.

* * *

><p>"So anyway, these are the three priestesses, who will officially open and close the contest," said Yae Nagumo.<p>

The three genin (or two and a shadow clone) and Kakashi nodded at the three girls in the shrine priestess outfits.

"Those outfits are different than the ones at the shrine back home," noted Naruto.

"Which shrine is that?" asked the old woman, all but visibly pouncing.

"The 'Hiryu Shrine'," answered Naruko.

All three priestesses and the old woman visibly reacted to that, with the old woman chuckling and the three shrine maidens glancing at each other quickly before resuming their original disciplined/serene look.

"The Shrine Of The Fire Dragon? How... interesting," said Yae. "Since these three are the Maidens of the Dragon-god Shrine, it's of professional interest."

"Oh," said Naruto. "My aunt runs it, so I'll mention that."

Yae Nagumo nodded and said something in a fluid language.

"That's a weird way of saying it," said Naruto, scratching his head.

"Uhm, dobe? You understood what she said?" asked Sasuke.

"Sure, didn't you?" asked Naruto. "Why is everyone staring at me?"

"No reason," said Yae, smirking.

"What language was that?" asked Sasuke of the old woman.

"Ah, well, that would be a secret," said Yae, a peculiar look in her eyes. "In any case, these are the three Maidens of the Shrine of the Dragon-god. My grand-daughter Karin. Soyogi Mitsurugi. Shizuku Narumi."

The various ninja nodded as each of the girls nodded in their turn, though their professional calm they'd settled into after the old woman had come forward looked a little rattled.

"They are also known as the Maidens Of Sacrifice," continued Yae.

"'Sacrifice'?" asked Naruto. "What sacrifices?"

"Why, sacrifices to the dragon-god of course," said Yae.

Naruto's expression was completely unguarded. If anything Yae's smirk turned up a notch or two.

* * *

><p>The old woman took the three maidens aside after the introductions, with Kakashi seeming to ignore them after that.<p>

Of course, he wasn't ignoring them at all.

"Naruto? What was that she said?" asked Kakashi quietly.

"It sounded like she was quoting from something," said Naruto. "She said 'Dragons of fire share their flame.'"

Sasuke looked like he had a half-dozen questions that he wanted to ask, but didn't want to look as if he didn't know what was going on. So the expression very quickly slid into a scowl.

"Hmmm, well I want you two to watch over the photography session and keep an eye on everything. Let me know if you see anything at all noteworthy." Kakashi vanished at that point in a swirl of leaves.

"That's worrisome," said Naruto.

"What is?" asked Sasuke.

"Kakashi-sensei is a perv who reads from that book all the time," said Naruto. "But he's turning down a chance to watch girls model swimsuits."

Sasuke winced at that for a second, then thought about it. "Might not be perverted enough."

"I suppose," said Naruto, shaking his head. "Do we want to do nearby or at a distance?"

"You up close, I'm better with distance weapons than you," said Sasuke. He made a note to boggle at Naruto's brain having turned active.

"What about me?" asked Naruko, breaking in.

"I meant to ask why you're wearing that," said Naruto.

"Armored gauntlets and leggings, breastplate, shoulder guards," said Naruko, pointing to each. "Hello! If a hit will dispel me, then keeping me from getting hit is a good thing."

"Won't it slow you down though?" asked Naruto. "Not to mention how hot it is."

"I thought we might be fighting monsters later," said Naruko. "We might still be."

"Stop arguing with yourself," said Sasuke. "We've got a job to do."

* * *

>Guruko sniffed again, puzzled. The trail abruptly vanished right there. As one of Kakashi's ninken - he checked out underground and a nearby tree just in case.<p>This was indeed a puzzle. He didn't like puzzles. It was a pity that Bull hadn't been deployed, though he was slower he liked pondering things.<p>

Still, this was something to report. The trail was sporadic and faint, but it was there - up to this point.

Guruko marked a spot nearby to more easily find this area again, then took off. It was way too hot and humid here, making his fur itch.

* * *

><p>"Grandmother?"<p>

"Hush child," said Yae Nagumo as she checked the place they'd ducked into. "Okay. No one's about."

"Grandmother," said Karin. "That boy, is he?"

"I'm at least eighty percent sure," agreed Yae. "He is a ninja. Who also happens to be the dragon god for this generation."

"But he's..." said Karin.

"We've periodically had a ninja assigned to the area," said Yae thoughtfully. "I remember in the Second Ninja War how they had a small post set up. Made sense at the time, this isn't an area to particularly target but the beach and our island would both have made good landing zones that an enemy could then use to gather supplies and personnel for an assault on the country. Having at least one ninja present meant that there would be someone to get the message out and respond appropriately. It's entirely possible once he was chunin level, that we could petition the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf to station that boy here."

"I find it hard to believe that one who looks so clueless is actually the Dragon God," noted Soyogi.

"He understood and responded to that line of ancient lore, but I agree - further tests would be necessary before any action is taken," agreed Yae.

"I'll give him one thing though," said Soyogi thoughtfully. "He's strong."

"I'll say," agreed Shizuku. "I was accosted by three Jashin cultists. He threw them."

"So he's good at taijutsu," said Karin with a little "hmph" for emphasis.

"No, I mean he threw them. Over buildings." Shizuku shook her head. "I thought it was just a wind technique of some kind."

"'Just a wind technique'?" asked Karin.

"So... if he IS the Dragon God?" asked Shizuku.

"Then he is the Dragon God," said Soyogi. "It is our duty to present ourselves that he can choose the sacrifice."

"Grandmother, what was that you said? Was that from the Great Book?" asked Karin.

"It was indeed," said Yae. "It is a phrase transcribed from the tongue of ancient dragonkind, and he understood it so readily he hadn't even realized he responded at first."

* * *

><p>Kakashi listened and frowned. It didn't sound as if Naruto was in any danger.<p>

If one of these girls tried to be a living sacrifice to him? Kakashi considered Naruto and pondered potential reactions. The most likely was Naruto screaming and running away.

Actually, that might be pretty funny.

Well, he ought to follow the old woman just in case. That 'Great Book' sounded like something to check into.

* * *

><p>Pakkun nodded to Those Two Guys (Izumo and Kotetsu) at the gate. He'd never been to this shrine place, but he should be able to find it easy enough.<p>

Reporting first to the Hokage, he could then find this shrine and report to the woman he'd find there.

Hopefully she'd have a snack or something, he was feeling a bit peckish.

* * *

><p>"Okay," said Bittersmith, the old man flanked by two fellows. "Ah, I see you've been here before. Anko Mitarashi."<p>

"That's right," said Anko whose grin was temporarily lost. "What's with this swimsuit?"

"She's right!" said the pink-haired girl who was next in line. "It's so tiny!"

"Huh?" asked Anko, looking back at her associate. "Nah. It covers way too much. More than I usually wear."

"It's just for the photographs, you can choose what you want for the contest as long as the important bits are covered," said Bittersmith.

"Oh," said Anko, who then nodded. "Right. You'll be using some of the photos for ads."

"You catch on quickly, Mitarashi-san," said Bittersmith.

"Okay," said Anko. "Make sure you've got this right. Anko Mitarashi, tea house worker. Twenty-one years of age."

"Same as last year?" asked Bittersmith.

"Yeah," said Anko, not missing a beat. "For this year's talent competition - I'm going with a snake dance."

"That didn't win last year," noted Bittersmith.

"Eh, it's what I got," said Anko.

"Okay, go over there for the photographers. Next?" Bittersmith looked pointedly at the next girl.

"Sakura Haruno, and NO I am NOT of THAT village," said Sakura. "Farmer's daughter. I'm twelve."

"In the competition, you'll do what for the talent portion?" asked Bittersmith.

Sakura took a deep breath. "Singing." Of course, the last time she'd done anything like that had been with Ino and karaoke - and THAT had been four years ago. Hopefully she could do better now.

* * *

>Otomatsu held up a hand as the small dog ran up to the tower. "You're Pakkun, one of Kakashi's ninken, aren't you?"<p>"Yeah, I have a mission update for the Hokage," said the dog.<p>

"Very well," said Otomatsu, the ANBU captain currently in charge. "Kakashi Hatake attending a beauty contest. This is going to be interesting."

"Otomatsu, you have no idea," shot back Pakkun as he entered the tower and grumbled as he began running up the stairs.

* * *

><p>Bittersmith inclined his head. "Kite."<p>

Belvedere Kite was not a native of the Fire Country, coming from far outside the Elemental Nations area. That said, he was an odd little man whose major passion was bringing the cooking of his native land to this country. The food of the land of Koreis, which included what they called 'Korean Barbeque' in a number of franchises in villages and cities across Fire Country.

He was also a major sponsor of the Miss Beach competition.

"So we managed to get Kakashi Hatake and Jiraiya as judges this year," said Mister Kite. "Hmph. Maybe they'll be able to run off the problems we're having."

"Well," said Bittersmith, "at least this year we're getting some free publicity."

"Sea monsters attacking ships and the village are not the sort of publicity we need," grumped Kite. "Sang Yu, one of my chefs, has complained that business is down 70% from last year. Oh, hello. Are you competing this year?"

Rinne nodded.

"Well then," said Mister Kite, smiling kindly at the little girl with the for-her enormous glasses. He recognized her of course, sister to one of the three shrine maidens. "What are you doing for the talent part?"

Rinne reached into her sleeves and pulled out two fans, which she snapped out in a fluid motion.

"Oh, a fan dance?" Bittersmith nodded to himself. "That will do nicely, some of the judges are favorable to traditional forms. Go over there to get your pictures taken please."

Kite nodded to the girl as she turned and went over to that corner. "A fan dance? I'm unfamiliar with the custom but I take it the name is descriptive?"

"Yes," said Bittersmith. "I've been in this country longer than you. It's an ancient tradition, which fits well with her skills as the sister of one of the Maidens."

"Oh," said Kite, glancing towards where the one ninja leaned against a wall and seemingly brooded off on his own. "Anything interesting?"

"We've got Anko back from last year," said Bittersmith.

"The snake dancer who threatened three of the judges with 'ritual castration' for scoring her low?" asked Kite.

"Yeah, that's the one," admitted Bittersmith.

"Send a warning to the judges that she may be a little... off," said Kite.

"There's a new one, a 'Sakura Haruno' in the junior division," said Bittersmith.

"Haruno? From THAT village?" asked Kite.

"She says no, but she has the pink hair," said Bittersmith.

"Oh great," said Kite, his voice heavy with sarcasm. "Sea monsters and a Haruno, plus that snake-charmer. There goes the insurance rates."

"She's chosen singing as her talent," said Bittersmith.

"I'll bring earplugs," noted Kite.

"Actually she has a pleasant enough voice, she might actually have some talent," said Bittersmith. "Ah. Yes, you're here for the photo shoot?"

"Yes," said the woman. "Name is Tsuna- ko. Yes,Tsunako."

"Okay, Junior division?" asked Bittersmith.

"That's right," said the blonde.

"And your talent for the competition?" asked Bittersmith.

"Gambling," said Tsunako.

"No," said Bittersmith.

"No?" asked Tsunako.

"No," agreed Kite. "It has to be a talent appropriate to your age and in keeping with the spirit of the Miss Beach competition."

"...feats of strength?" tried Tsunako.

"Very well," said Kite, pointing at the line for the photographers.

After the girl had left, Kite considered for a few moments before opening his mouth.

"Don't say it," advised Bittersmith.

"So it was as obvious as I thought," said Kite.

"Oh yes," said Bittersmith.

"And Jiraiya's one of the judges," noted Kite. "Is the village going to survive this?"

"I don't know about you," said Bittersmith, "but I'm going to pack an emergency get-outta-town kit and have it ready. Just in case."

"Good idea," said Kite with a nod.

The next girl came up and bowed slightly. "My name is Rossignol. For the talent portion, I will sing."

* * *

><p>"Just vanished?" asked Kakashi. "Could the abductor have flown?"<p>

"Away with two struggling girls in a thunderstorm? It's possible but I don't know how likely it is," admitted Guruko. "Thing is, it would be impossible for me to track them by scent if they did that."

"I suppose," said Kakashi. "Show me the spot."

Guroko nodded, his forehead protector shining in the sun. "This way."

* * *

><p>Next to a corner was a stack of crates. Sasuke noticed this in particular as every so often a short-haired girl's head would go peeking around it.<p>

He moved to get a better view, on the off chance it would turn out to be something less annoying and more of a professional concern. Just in case.

It was, as he'd already thought, that Karin girl. Who was, apparently, doing a fair "agitated fangirl" impression.

Well, maybe not entirely.

She was not, however, looking at himself. Which would have been understandable as he WAS Rookie Of The Year and the Last Uchiha and, well, himself. No, she was looking at Naruto.

Which caused Sasuke to consider Naruto himself, and realize a couple of things. First, that Naruto was taller. Since he'd activated that kekkei genkai of his, which Sasuke had a few suspicions about were not quite what they were reported to be, he'd shot up about four inches in height. As it had just been a tiny bit each day, it hadn't been so noticeable - but now that he thought about it he'd spent less time looking literally down upon the class clown. Naruto had also filled out. Not chubby though, he was showing considerably more muscle than was strictly normal for their age group. If he had not known Naruto and was considering him from the viewpoint of someone who had just met him, as he was considering from the shrine maid's point-of-view, he would think Naruto to be a bit older than a mere twelve. Possibly fifteen or so.

Sasuke watched, not completely understanding what was going on. Oh, he had some suspicions. Something clearly was off about the dead last of the Academy having a kekkei genkai that apparently included competency.

Not that he was complaining. When he'd originally been paired up with Naruto and Sakura he'd labeled them The Load and Mostly Useless Fangirl. Now that Naruto was less the Load and more the Lancer, that meant that his own quest for power in order to enact vengeance was less impeded.

This though - this was sufficiently different that he was at first having trouble crediting what he was seeing.

"WHAT THE HELL?" screamed Naruko as she stared at the cut she'd gotten on one finger while tossing a kunai from one hand to the other.

Sasuke made a quick blurring move so that he ended up behind the shadow clone, and saw the trickle of blood on that hand. "So you're not the original?"

"N-no, I-" said Naruko, turning to look at Sasuke.

Sasuke pursed his lips at the sight. The shadow clone was about to freak completely out. Well, one way to test it.

Sasuke's fist drove into the shadow clone's stomach with enough force that she landed on her butt three feet away. And was coughing badly.

She did NOT dispel. Nor did she break his hand.

The original apparently saw that part and ran over. "Teme? What the hell did you-"

Sasuke interrupted by backhanding Naruto in the face. This did two things. One, the lack of Naruto vanishing indicated that this was not the shadow clone. Two, that really really hurt. Not Naruto, his hand felt like he'd tried to smack an anvil. One of the big ones they pounded out swords on. Therefore this was the original real Naruto.

"Wha?" asked Naruto.

"She's not dispelling despite the injuries," said Sasuke, pitching his voice lower. "She's bleeding."

"Yeah... oh," said Naruto.

"Yeah," agreed Sasuke.

"What the hell?" said Naruko as she could finally breathe. "What was that for?"

"You were freaking out, in front of civilians," said Sasuke, inclining his head to the watching contestants and judges. "Keep it together, we'll talk to Kakashi when he gets back."

* * *

><p>Pakkun blinked as he considered the woman before him. "How is that even possible?"<p>

"It goes to the inner nature of things," said Keri, "and as everything else in life - it gets complicated."

"Huh, well I have to get this back to Kakashi," said Pakkun. "Who'd have thought it. Is there a manual or something the kid can look at?"

"Yes, actually," said Keri. "However, I don't think it's in Naruto's nature to consult it."

* * *

><p>Sakura had the top scores in the Academy for a reason. She was able to multitask and could memorize details quickly. Both of which usually had her labelled as a 'genjutsu type' though she didn't have a lot of genjutsu learned.<p>

As it turned out, this helped in infiltration work as well. Sakura understood that she was basically playing a role as an actress or stage performer would.

**Sakura Haruno:** Just your average farm-worker from an unaffiliated farmstead to the North. Hobby: Singing and puzzle games. Age: 12.

Her eyes flicked to the girl now posing for the camera, and doing a rather more risque job despite that she was also in the Junior division.

**Rossignol:** daughter of travelling merchants. Hobby: singing. age: 13.

There was something off about girl with the dark purple hair and heavy eyeshadow. Not the black nail polish or odd tattoos. No, it was something in the way she carried herself.

She was confident and aggressive, whether it was revealing herself in these tiny little swimsuits or just a comment directed to Sakura - "try to handle your losing to me with some dignity" - that indicated she had some special ability.

Sakura frowned slightly, wondering if this Rossignol was a foreign-nin or missing-nin. That would explain a few things, wouldn't it?

The other possibility was Tsunako. She seemed VERY suspicious.

* * *

><p>Anko looked over the competition and dismissed most of them in very short order.<p>

Tsunako was under some sort of henge, it was revealed when she'd make a grab for something and her arms were too short to reach. Little things like that. She also looked kind of familiar. _Probable foreign-nin. Maybe from Waterfall or Cloud?_

Rossignol was the one currently posing for the photoshoot. A little kunoichi-wannabe type. Such an obvious poseur, trying to project the whole deadly-flower image, and no real clue how to pull it off. _In a few years, with the right training, maybe she could be a real bad girl instead of a fake._

Shizune looked familiar, and the name sounded familiar, but heck if she could place it right off the bat. She seemed awfully self-conscious about the swimsuit for a kunoichi though, and what was that pig? An emergency food supply or pet? Well, if she WAS a kunoichi on a mission - give her points for having something like that as a prop for her backstory. _She acts like she doesn't want to be here, and she's constantly glancing at Tsunako. On the same team or from the same village maybe? Or maybe they recognize each other?_

Yugito - if there was ANYONE that was an obstacle to overcome, it was that girl. She could do the "catwalk strut" like nobody's business, didn't have any problem showing off her curves, and if anything seemed professionally bored with the whole thing. _Also plays the shamisen well, though one of the judges was saying something about technical proficiency but lacking in artistic merit? I don't get it, but from the slight reaction this 'Yugito' had - something she's heard before?_

Fuu - another junior division type to keep an eye on. She obviously didn't know a thing about being here but was way too clumsy to be a shinobi infiltrator. _Girl's got a chip on her shoulder the size of the Hokage mountain. Still, there's too much odd about her to just accept..._

_What in the Nine Hells are those genin doing over there? Why was she freaking out? Why did he punch her out? And why is there a girl spying on them from behind those crates?_

* * *

><p>"You didn't need to hit me," said Naruko as soon as she'd recovered.<p>

"You didn't dispel," pointed out Sasuke. "You landed solidly."

Naruko got wide-eyed again and started breathing hard.

"Knock that off," said Sasuke coldly. "If you're going to do something like that, go off and do it by yourself."

"B-b-but," stammered Naruko, her hands going to a hand-seal. She concentrated.

"Stop that," said Naruto finally after a few seconds of nothing happening. "You're not dispelling. Dang. This is freaky."

"Hnn," said Sasuke, considering the girl-version again. "You seem to be fairly tough and solid. Just not as solid as Naruto."

"Gee, sorry," said Naruko, not sounding very sorry.

"We'll have to ask Aunt Keri when we get home," decided Naruto aloud.

"What's keeping sensei anyway?" asked Sasuke with a frown. He hated being out of the loop, but it wasn't likely he'd get answers from Naruto who was obviously grasping for answers himself.

* * *

><p>"Odd," said Kakashi.<p>

Guruko, one of Kakashi's ninja-dog summons, nodded. "Note that there are no physical tracks, even though the scent trail remains. Up until you get here at least."

Kakashi looked over the spot, considered, then raised his headband.

"Anything you see that I can't smell?" asked Guruko.

"Yes, actually," said Kakashi. "There's a genjutsu."

"With a smell component? That's unusual," said Guruko. Most ninja would neglect details like that because they didn't assign a great importance to the lesser-used senses.

Kakashi walked up to an empty area and casually sliced through something. Two poles appeared, to which two unconscious girls were tied.

"Curious," said Kakashi as he inspected a symbol drawn on the ground.

to be continued 


	4. Chapter 4: Maidens Of Sacrifice

b>Spiral Dragon

by Greylle

DISCLAIMER: Original series belong to someone else.  
>NOTE: The following is just an idea that came to me and started developing. Not sure how long i'll keep going on it. It's already gone quite a bit further than intended and seems to want to write itself. It is indeed a Umi No Misaki fusioncrossoverish piece, which is an ADULT (seinen) story that managed to impress me with its character development and humor. It can be found at Mangafox if you're old enough and care to give it a try.

Spiral Dragon, part four: Maidens of Sacrifice  
><p>

* * *

>Karin Nagumo was not Karin the kunoichi from Otogakure (or Kusagakure - depending on which story you believed). The only things the two shared besides gender were hair color and first names.<p>THIS Karin plopped down next to two of the Junior division contestants and sighed. "Can I ask advice from either of you?"<p>

The pink-haired girl glanced at the other contestant then back to Karin. "I guess."

"Sakura Haruno-not-of-that-other-Haruno-family?" asked Karin.

Sakura nodded.

"Good, a normal girl's opinion might help clear things up," said Karin, ignoring the snort from the other girl. "Fuu, right?"

The other girl inclined her head, but mainly seemed to be interested in watching the area.

"Okay, what do you know about the three Cape Maidens?" asked Karin.

"You're from nearby Okitsushima, and you're one of three shrine priestesses or holy maidens of the Dragon God Shrine out there," said Sakura, pausing for a moment as she considered what she'd found out so far. "You're also called 'Living Sacrifices' or something."

Both Karin and Sakura noticed the way Fuu's attention was suddenly completely on Karin for a few seconds. When that passed Fuu sat back again, but one could tell she was paying more attention from body language.

"Yes, the three maidens are chosen after birth, bloodline plays a good part of the selection process," said Karin, sounding as if she were quoting someone. "I'm the Maiden Of Fire, also known as the 'Giver Of Prosperity' - and yeah - one of the Maidens Of Sacrifice. And a dragon has shown up..."

"Oh," said Sakura, realizing that Naruto's dragon summons had been seen and now there were repercussions. "I don't think this dragon eats people."

Fuu snorted. "And how would a simple farmgirl know this?"

"Uhm," said Sakura as she tried to think of a way to put this that would fit her cover story. "Just a guess?"

"Was that your impression?" asked Karin, taking that seriously. "I got that impression as well. Also that he's a pervert."

"The dragon's a pervert?" asked Fuu. "Is this one of the sea monsters that supposedly have been hitting here?"

"He totally peeped on me!" exclaimed Karin with more than a hint of righteous fury, who then deflated a little and added the next in a much meeker tone. "Except maybe that was my fault. A bit."

"It was your fault that a dragon peeped on you?" asked Fuu. "What happen, you leave a window open?"

"Uhm, kinda," admitted Karin in a small voice.

Fuu laughed shortly, then stopped and looked absolutely astonished at something.

"Anyway," said Karin. "I'm a sacrifice. There's a dragon."

Sakura decided that she could let a little information out. After all, it was just some farm girl and a shrine maiden. "What I heard was that the dragon is the contract-summons of one of the ninja here."

"Dorky-looking guy, wears orange, smiles a lot?" asked Karin.

"Uhm, yeah, could be," said Sakura, her eyes flicking to Naruto who was apparently confronting Sasuke who was talking to Naruto's Centerfold Jutsu who was getting up off the ground.

"Well, at least it's not Thugboy there," said Fuu. "Violent against his own team. Typical ninja."

"Ah, right," said Sakura, wanting to argue but not really sure how she could do so from within that cover story.

"Really? I've heard Konoha is different," said Karin. "The blonde there doesn't strike me as being the casually cruel type."

"He looks like an idiot," said Fuu.

Sakura considered biting her tongue to keep from replying.

"Well, maybe he's a nice idiot?" asked Karin.

Sakura had a coughing fit for absolutely no reason whatsoever.

"You okay?" asked Karin.

"Just dust," said Sakura as she recovered.

Fuu shrugged but seemed to consider the three briefly. Especially when the kunoichi decked the black-haired boy who'd hit her earlier.

"Hah!" said Karin. "Serves him right!"

"Errr," said Sakura, who'd stood up to go reprimand Naruto for hitting Sasuke when she realized that a farm girl wouldn't do that. She sat back down, and took a sip from her drink to settle down a little. "Yeah. Good for her. So, Karin, what did you want to talk about?"

"How do you approach a guy who you might have misjudged, just a little." Karin sighed.

"Which one?" asked Sakura.

"The nice idiot," said Karin.

"He's the dragon summoner?" asked Fuu, making the connection and thinking this was indeed valuable information that she could bring back to her village.

"Something like that, yeah," said Karin, realizing that maybe the dragon-god was keeping his dragon-god status secret for a reason. "I spotted him the same time I saw the dragon."

"So they were both outside when you flashed 'em and decided they were perverts," guessed Fuu. When Karin turned red and nodded, Fuu found herself wanting to laugh again. _When was the last time I laughed? What is it with this girl? Maybe she's one of those exhibitors-or-whatevers._

"Ah," said Sakura. "Tricky. You want to find a way to make it his fault anyway."

"What?" asked Fuu, her look turning cold after the gradual thaw. "You'd do something like that? Lie and turn your own mistake into his fault?"

"Well, yes," said Sakura. Standard tactics among girls their age, wasn't it?

Karin sighed. "I don't think I can do that."

* * *

>Kakashi knew something was up as soon as he landed next to his team. His finely honed ninja senses could tell from subtle cues.<p>Naruto looked befuddled. Naruko and Sasuke were arguing and both looked like they'd gotten punched in the face recently.<p>

"Guys, we're on a mission," said Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei," said Naruko. "I bleed."

"Ah," said Kakashi, taking in the bruise and cut lip on Naruko - not that Sasuke was uninjured but as Naruko was supposed to be a shadow clone that would disperse at the first real hit - Naruko's case the more unusual. "So."

"You have any idea what that means?" asked Sasuke.

"I have a few ideas," said Kakashi. "We'll have to discuss this away from prying eyes though."

* * *

><p>Jimo frowned as he listened to the cultists talking among themselves. He'd hoped they were behind the sea monsters and he could cut himself in for a little of their action.<p>

"...couldn't be Alain. Look, the guy serves Lord Jashin - I ain't got no problem with his faith. It's just that he's a few bricks shy of a load."

"Well, nobody's arguing that he's crazier than one of those Haruno gals. But look at his record, Alain aka Satsubatsu."

"What are you talking about? The man attacked a windmill, claiming it was a four-armed giant ninja in disguise."

"He won, didn't he?"

"I'm not arguing the guy's got some decent techniques, I'm saying he's both an idiot and crazier than a bedbug on a hot griddle. No way he could be behind the sea monsters."

"Why not? And it isn't the windmill incident I was referring to. You remember that incident down south with you-know-who?"

Jimo wondered, naturally, who 'you-know-who' was.

"That was Satsubatsu? Back then everyone called him Satsubaka, didn't they?"

"And then they stopped, didn't they?"

"Oh."

* * *

><p>Yugito Nii was quite aware of things going on around her, even if she was dressed in a black two-piece bathing suit, laying on a blanket on a rooftop.<p>

Even if the sun did make her feel like catnapping.

Monsters attacking a small area in the Land Of Fire was of little to no consequence for her own country, except that someone might be responsible for it and might come after THEIR country next.

No, her mission was information gathering and her target was Jiraiya of the Leaf. He had a reputation as a somewhat sleezy bum, a harmless perverted old man whose main claim to fame was a series of novels that combined humor with sexual exploits.

She'd spotted him twice so far. Apparently investigating the disappearance of two girls from room 222.

Also, apparently, not connected with the genin team from the Leaf that was here to deal with the sea monsters.

The blonde boy and blonde girl were siblings, enough of their features mapped for that. The boy more of an idiot, but apparently had a physical strength far beyond what he looked capable of. The girl more intelligent, but also more prone to some very odd emotional swings. One moment she looked like she was going to break down and cry, and the next she was ready to deck the dark-haired boy.

The dark-haired boy seemed the most well-adjusted and normal of the three.

As to their jonin-sensei, that was Kakashi Hatake. Which meant this must be a fairly special team of genin. According to her Bingo Book, Sharingan Kakashi was on the short-list for selection of Hokage when old Sarutobi was no longer able to fill that role.

Yugito sipped at her drink, using a quick jutsu that would burn off the alcohol at an accelerated rate. Not that there was much alcohol in the fizzy fruit-laden thing with an umbrella. She'd damn near kill for a decent beer, but it wasn't in keeping with the image she was trying to portray here.

There was something "off" about the blonde boy, too. She wasn't sure what it was though.

"Ship ho! It's under attack!"

Almost lazily, Yugito sat up and shaded her eyes to look out at sea. Yes, there was something out there. Unfortunately, she couldn't really tell what at this point.

Instead, she focussed her attention on Kakashi's team of genin. Well, that and the crowd of onlookers gathering as events transpired. This might just give her some useful data.

* * *

><p>"Okay, I really need this," said Naruko, clenching a fist.<p>

"Hmmm, well, this one looks particularly nasty," said Kakashi, pulling the cover over his Sharingan eye again.

"Yeah," said Naruto. "There's that big sucker, and all the little thingies it vomited over the ship."

Kakashi, Naruko, and Sasuke all looked at Naruto.

"What?" asked Naruto.

"Nevermind," said Kakashi. Made sense though. From the way the dragon-form's eyes were set, and the flight capabilities, Naruto's new form was probably an aerial hunter. He already knew that some of the capabilities carried over to some aspect to Naruto's human form. So why not? "In order to get there, we'll need you to do your summoning... over there. Behind that warehouse."

"Why back there?" asked Sasuke.

"Naruto's summoning technique isn't the standard form," said Kakashi. "We're ninja. Keeping people guessing is just part of that."

"Ah," said Sasuke, his eyes going to the crowd forming once word of something happening had gotten out.

* * *

><p>Karin Nagumo spotted the other two Maidens quickly enough.<p>

Soyogi Mitsurugi hurried as much as her dignity would allow her, much the same as Shizuku Narumi. Karin was the Maiden Of Fire, and dignity wasn't as close a companion to her and her role.

"Have you seen any evidence that he is... what was suggested?" asked Soyogi.

"Very strong, acts more like a kid than a ninja sometimes," said Karin. "Not much else."

"They went around this corner," said Shizuku, flattening herself against the wall. The other two quickly took positions nearby, and slowly craned their heads around the corner.

"You know," said Kakashi Hatake, waiting there. "Sneaking up on ninja is generally not advised."

"AIII!" "YAAAA!" Two shrieks and Soyogi found her reflexive punch was casually stopped.

That the ninja in question was apparently sparing almost no attention from reading a little orange book was something that they'd remember later. Right now they were just dealing with panic.

"SUMMONING JUTSU!" said the boy in orange.

_PA-DUMF!_

Swallowing nervously, sprawled on the ground, Karin looked up as a dragon moved closer and sniffed at her.

Then the masked ninja was gone, the dragon was leaping into the air, and they were alone.

"Okay," said Soyogi as she recovered from the event. "Maybe he IS the Dragon-God."

"Or, at least, a summoner of dragons," said Shizuku.

"I thought I was going to pee myself," said Karin, shaking still.

Shizuku got up, still breathing hard, and assembled what was left of her dignity. "Ahem. He does make a rather handsome dragon. If that was him."

"You think that was a bunshin technique?" asked Soyogi.

"They're ninja, I think it's in their secret ninja handbook that they have to be tricky," said Shizuku.

"I didn't know ninja had a secret handbook," said Karin, still sounding a bit shaky.

"Of course not, it'd be a secret," said Shizuku.

"I cannot confirm or deny the existence of a secret ninja handbook."

"YAAA!" "EEEEEP!" "WAAAA!"

Kakashi looked down at the three Maidens he'd snuck up on. "Hmmm. Yup. Still got it." _POOF!_

There was brief silence, with Karin looking wildly around for masked (or any other kind) ninja waiting to pounce.

"Okay. I gotta go change now," complained Shizuku.

"I hope the dragon-god doesn't do that," said Soyogi eventually.

"The ability to cause heart attacks with a single phrase is just one weapon in a ninja's arsenal," said Karin.

"True, where'd you hear that?" said Soyogi.

"Someone put a sticky note on my forehead," said Karin, really beginning to shake now.

"Okay, we get it," said Soyogi aloud. "Sneaking up on ninja BAD. Let's get going now."

"Where are we going?" asked Karin.

"To change pants," stated Shizuku.

"Really?" asked Karin.

"No, actually. Let's go see the dragon-god in action."

* * *

>Sasuke had watched very carefully. Naruto was preoccupied with Naruko. Kakashi was preoccupied with the three girls. Naruko was preoccupied with Naruko. Getting the harness out and spreading it didn't require a lot of concentration.<p>As the three girls were civilians, of some dragon-cult, and focused on Naruto's summons - he didn't bother to concern himself with them that much.<p>

Earlier suspicions accumulated as Naruto did the summons and the dragon appeared.

That was flatly impossible, but he kept coming back to it.

Had Naruto turned paler since summoning the dragon? Sasuke turned his gaze back towards Naruto, then at the dragon. Pieces fit together but the picture made no sense whatsoever.

Flight proved to be a little harsh on take-off again, but practice flying was paying off and the seeking-of-altitude had them scooting by a rooftop with a staring girl on a towel, but they didn't actually hit anything.

Though the idea was impossible. It couldn't possibly be.

Unless...

"Hey! Naruto!" called out Sasuke as he climbed forward over the webbing. "Have you gotten a couple of feet longer?"

"You think so?" asked the dragon, looking back. Then freezing. "Uh."

"FLY! FLY DAMN IT!" shouted Sasuke, cool and poise temporarily forgotten, as he realized that the big dragon had just frozen in shock and their forward rush was now beginning to acquire a downward slope.

The dragon clearly shook himself out of his surprise and turned his attention back to flying.

Sasuke just waited as Kakashi moved closer and clipped his own belt to one of the nearby metal links.

"He needs to work on that combining of the transformation, substitute, and shadow clone - he can't pull them off quite simultaneously," said Sasuke, holding up one finger. A second finger joined the first. "He's always been hated by the village and trying to get them to acknowledge him." Three fingers extended. "His 'kekkei genkai' includes enhanced sight, durability, and strength - which are all primary qualities of this dragon we're on."

"Hmmm," said Kakashi, nodding for Sasuke to continue. Also taking note that Sasuke had linked the whole village-shunning thing to Naruto's dragon status and not anything foxy.

"He's eating a lot more, and not just ramen," said Sasuke, holding on a little tighter as the dragon got a little more altitude. "He thinks I didn't seem him take a bite out of a metal fork last night when he was eating. I take it this is all to be kept secret?"

"Yes, it is," said Kakashi.

"Good!" Sasuke turned a smile to Kakashi that seemed just a little mischievous. "When the time comes, and I must face That Man for his crimes. I'm going to need transportation and the element of surprise."

Kakashi considered. "Well, admittedly, dropping out of the heavens aboard a fire-breathing dragon DOES tend to surprise people."

Sasuke nodded. He had to avenge his clan by his own hands. Doing it in style though - that counted too, didn't it?

"You're taking this development surprisingly well," said Kakashi.

"He's still Naruto," said Sasuke. "Still fumble-fingered, stubborn, loud-mouthed, ramen-loving, unpredictable and a knucklehead."

"Gee thanks," said the shadow clone who then dispelled himself as apparently he wasn't needed.

"One question though. Is he human and can now become a dragon, or is he now a dragon who can become human?"

Kakashi considered that briefly, not entirely sure himself.

"Hmm," hmmed Sasuke, his mind for once not so focused on vengeance as he worked out details of this new information. "If his 'true clan kekkei genkai'... his Aunt. Oh dear. And she was hitting on you."

"What?" asked Kakashi. "Well, maybe a little? Do you think?"

"Better you than me," decided Sasuke.

"Ah," said Kakashi.

"So those three dragon-cult-girls?" mused Sasuke, still fitting things in with the new knowledge. "They're going to be awfully disappointed to learn that their dragon is Naruto. It'll be amusing to see them trying to get him to eat one of them."

Kakashi and Sasuke briefly pictured Naruto running away with three girls chasing him demanding he come back and eat one of them.

"I can see it," said Kakashi after awhile.

"All too easy," added Sasuke.

"Guys, we're at the target," rumbled the dragon.

* * *

><p>Getting some telescopes wasn't hard, they were the three Maidens Of Sacrifice after all. People recognized them and were helpful towards them. They even gave them extra room so they could talk privately.<p>

"He's spitting balls of... what IS that?" asked Karin.

"Purple and red fire of some kind," said Soyogi. "Whatever that sea monster is made of, it certainly doesn't like that."

"I wouldn't think much of anything would," noted Shizuku.

"So..." said Karin.

"Maybe he IS a dragon-god," said Karin.

"Okay," said Soyogi, lowering the spyglass. "We need to discuss this with your grandmother."

* * *

><p>Sasuke Uchiha had some abilities due to genetics and training, even if his Sharingan hadn't manifested itself since that night when he'd lost his clan.<p>

He had excellent vision for one, exceptional balance for another.

That didn't mean he didn't have the lanyards hooked up to hold him onto the harness that was webbed across the dragon.

Though he would deny until his dying day that he let out a war whoop as the dragon dived at the large sea monster, spitting little balls of Destruction Incarnate!

"Looks like an aphid," noted Sasuke to Kakashi as they went past and began circling around. "Covered in thick scales and with some fins added, but an aphid."

"I thought it looked more like a pillbug," said Kakashi.

"It's submerging, and I don't swim all that well," noted the dragon. "What do we do about the monsters it put on the ship?"

"Ah, well," said Kakashi, "that would be where we go hand-to-hand. Too bad your clone dispersed."

"Oh," said Naruto. "Crap."

Sasuke smirked. "Like I said. It's Naruto."

* * *

>Yugito Ni was in her disguise as a civilian woman who had entered a beauty contest. She was currently wearing a nice little two-piece swimsuit, and she'd been sunning herself on a rooftop. You got a better view of everything and less sand on you than if you were lying on the beach.<p>She'd gotten up to look off in the distance at the two shapes on the horizon. Too big to be smudges, but too far off to get much detail. From what the people with binoculars and spyglasses were saying - it was a sea monster attacking a ship.<p>

When the ship's name was mentioned (the _Lady Konoka_) - she was able to match it up with a ship she'd sailed on once. It had been of a foreign type - called a galleon. A really big ship, sturdily made. A bit over one hundred eighty feet in length, maybe thirty feet across. It was a big ship meant for lots of cargo, which had actually been her job there - guarding that cargo. She remembered the masts had been pretty high up, and the breeze up there had been a refreshing change from the more still air closer to the water.

The sea monster was bigger than the ship. So, about the size of a Tailed Beast turned loose.

This made the sea monsters more of a threat, and more of a priority in Yugito's estimation, than the intel she might be able to coax out of Jiraiya of the Leaf. If those things were around to threaten shipping - it could eventually do serious harm to the international economy and therefore Kumo.

All this she worked out, then turned at a chorus of screeches. What she saw almost made HER screech.

A dragon, all dull metallic-looking scales and fangs and claws, shot by her rooftop close enough that she could have hit it with a kunai. If she were idiot enough to attack a fifty foot long armored dragon with a kunai, that is. A butter knife might have been as effective.

The thing was out over the ocean by the time she turned to watch, and shakily put away the kunai which had mysteriously appeared in one hand, and diminishing rapidly.

Part of her training as a kunoichi of Kumo had been that she could glance at something, then look away and go over the details of what she'd seen, memorizing it and deciphering the details. A harness of webbing around the beast's torso, with four ninjs linked to the harness by some arrangement of straps.

More important details that further pushed back the value of interrogating Jiraiya. The Leaf had a method of getting troops to distant locations very quickly. This then was the dragon-summoner she'd heard a rumor about.

Yugito left the rooftop quickly. She had to get one of those spyglasses or a pair of binoculars.

Fortunately she was able to find one quickly, some young boy who spent all his time staring at her body while she used his spyglass to stare at the scene.

The dragon spat... was that plasma? No, plasma wouldn't eat holes in that big aphid-thing Whatever it was, it seemed to be more focussed and more armor-piercing than a Tailed Beast Menace Ball. Less damaging, but the dragon spat out FOUR of those during a high-speed pass of the target.

Yugito focused her view on the aphid-monster and noticed the holes seemed to enlarge slightly after the initial strike, and then the beast submerged to get away. Apparently the prize of the ship was not worth risking more of those blasts hitting it. Which was understandable.

The dragon swooped close to the ship, and the tiny (even with the spyglass) specks leaping from dragon to ship could only be the genin and their jonin-sensei. Going hand to hand with... inhuman shaped specks?

Dangerous. Very dangerous. Ah, the aphid-thing had just emerged again. Now the dragon was fighting it? The dragon was much smaller than the aphid, but the blasts of whatever-that-was seemed to even the odds until the aphid closed,

Then... the dragon must be pretty strong as it just seemed to go berserk - ripping and tearing apart the creature as if it were made of cardboard. Had the dragon gotten bigger somehow? Finally the aphid thing submerged again, and this time did not reappear.

The dragon set to circling the ship, obviously not trusting the aphid to simply go away. Was that an injury? Yes, it looked as if the dragon had a wound along the top of one paw. So it COULD be hurt. One simply had to throw a giant sea-going carnivorous aphid at it.

Yugito handed the spyglass back to the boy and turned to head to her room. She had a report to make.

* * *

><p>The big scaly aphid-thing had returned, and the holes he'd blown in it looked kind of scabbed over.<p>

_It's a lot bigger than me though, if only there was some way to... even the odds. Waitaminute. Didn't that dragon guy say I could cast Reduce or ENLARGE?_

Naruto flew past and reached inside himself, found the right way to turn and twist the power, and did it.

**"?"** somehow conveyed the giant aphid thing as the fifty-five foot long dragon was abruptly two hundred feet long as it dove in with claws and fangs and revealed that it's tail had a sharp edge.

When he finished the turn it was a swooping attack, having seen birds do this before. It was a big bug, still bigger than him, but it was a bug so that should be all right.

Beams of flame and other things were fired off by the bug, but only one hit Naruto and it just sort of slid off his scales.

Claws reached out, grabbing the edges of a wound he'd inflicted with his plasma, ripping the wound wider. Hind claws scrabbled at the scales, finding purchase by cutting through those scales. His tail lashed down, the hard ridges at the end spearing into another of the wounds.

Naruto didn't focus much on what he was doing, just trying to keep his balance and shred as much of this monster as he could. It was responding with more flame, blasts of lightning, and some kind of invisible blades which sliced at him. Finally, with a shriek - it began submerging again though it seemed sluggish at this point for some reason.

Naruto backed off, feeling as if he'd gotten hundreds of paper cuts, and sore. Also terribly ticked off. Wings flapped hard, pulling him up and back, away from the monster as he tried to gather more of that plasma-fire stuff together and hit the wound he'd opened up further.

It didn't matter, as the monster quickly disappeared beneath the waves and Naruto didn't think it was possible to follow it. Grumbling, he circled the ship a few more times, looking for any sign that there would be a Round 3.

* * *

><p>Jimo, missing-nin, handed the spyglass back to the owner. He turned, without a word, and started walking - pausing only to pick up his backpack.<p>

"There are freaking MORE of them?" asked Jimo softly ten minutes later as he walked along the road. "One in Konoha, one here. That's only two. Calm down, Jimo. Only TWO dragons."

"**Of course,**" rumbled a deep voice from within the woods. "**There are only two dragons. Couldn't possibly be more.**"

"Right," said Jimo, nodding. "There couldn't possib... ly... be more..."

Jimo looked around. There was only a black cat, sunning itself on a rock.

That abruptly shimmered and lengthened and threw out leathern wings.

Jimo whimpered.

"**I'm not really a dragon,**" said the not-cat.

"!" screamed Jimo, who didn't stop running until three days later when he was entirely out of the Elemental Countries.

The 'dragon' in the meantime had just shimmered and turned back into a cat, and began the process of cleaning one paw.

* * *

><p>Kakashi, Naruko, and Sasuke had leapt from the dragon to the deck of the ship, finding sailors with curved swords attempting to deal with... whatever you called them.<p>

Skeletal figures roughly seven feet in height, covered with something like lichen or pebbly scales. Instead of hands and forearms were weapons made of the same material. Some were swords, but maces, hammers, and axes also seemed to be represented.

Naruko was the first to discover that hitting one with one's hand just wasn't a good idea. The pebbly skin was actually fairly hard and abrasive.

At which point every ninja there switched to using weapons or jutsu.

Naruko grabbed a spear that a sailor had dropped, using that to punch through one of the monsters. Unfortunately, the creature didn't seem too put off by that and shattered the spear right behind the head. Naruko naturally began using what remained of the spear as a staff-weapon. Which actually seemed more effective.

When Sasuke used a fireball on the monsters, it was the remaining sailors who began screaming. Which was sort of understandable as the ship WAS made of wood. He quickly traded out to using kunai.

Kakashi started throwing jutsu around, sweeping most of the monsters off the deck with an octopus-shape formed entirely of seawater.

After which, there was enough of a lull in battle that they could observe the return of the Giant Space Aphid and Naruto fighting it.

* * *

><p>They sat on small cushions, facing their elder across the small table.<p>

"Uhm, who is this?" asked Karin after the tea had been brought.

"My name is Keri, I'm the shrine priestess of the Hiyru Shrine in Konohagakure," said Keri, bowing politely from her own cushion.

"Well..." said Karin, noting that her two fellow Maidens had gone to their stoic/calm "professional face" and weren't saying a thing. "We really need to discuss..."

"One moment," said the redhead, making a hand gesture. Ofuda appeared in that hand and she threw them.

All three Maidens noted that the ofuda went out a precise distance and then stopped in midair. Also the way the air shimmered in a square around them.

"Errr," said Karin, a little alarmed.

"Very nice work," said Yae Nagumo, the head of their own shrine and Karin and Rinne's grandmother.

"Thank you," said Keri, inclining her head.

"What's that?" asked Karin, knowing that nobody else would ask.

"A barrier," said Keri. "We cannot be overheard, not can we be accurately spied upon by jutsu without us knowing about it immediately."

"I see," said Karin.

"Keri-san has come from Konohagakure with Pakkun there," said Yae, nodding towards the dog apparently sleeping right outside the cafe's doors. "Apparently she wanted to investigate what was going on here."

"I was understandably quite curious," said Keri. "And yes, my 'cousin' for lack of a better word is exactly what you think he is. A dragon touched by divinity, whom the Toad Prophesy has stated will be a savior or doom to the world."

All three Maidens openly stared at Keri.

After taking a sip of tea, being polite WAS part of being part of this culture after all, Keri sat the cup back down. "Naturally, we're angling for the 'save' choice."

"So... to save the world one of us has to be EATEN?" asked Karin.

Keri and Yae stared at her.

Karin blinked and looked to the side, only to find that Soyogi and Shizuku staring at her too. "What?"

"Child," said Yae. "You swore oaths and you were raised to serve the dragon-god. Not to be served up to him."

Karin blinked. "Oh." A few heartbeats passed. "Oh!"

"Idiot," said Soyogi.

"So, uhm," said Karin. "What..."

"I have a proposition actually," said Keri.

* * *

><p>Naruto went up a suitable distance, then did his transformation to human form and this time made sure there was plenty of smoke by using two of his smoke grenades.<p>

He dropped, thinking that he was tough enough that dropping from this height would be safe but dramatic.

He was half-right.

* * *

><p>Sasuke saw Naruto fall, that he had settled to land in a crouch.<p>

He saw Naruto land in what was obviously meant to be dramatic fashion. Which was put off by the fact that he went right through the wooden deck with a loud crash. There was another, similar, crash immediately after that - indicating that Naruto was two decks down.

"Does that settle any remaining doubts about it still being Naruto?" asked Kakashi.

"If I had any, that would have satisfied them," said Sasuke as he noticed even the remaining monsters had stopped to stare at the hole in the deck.

"Okay," came Naruto's voice from somewhere down that hole, "that didn't exactly work as planned."


	5. Chapter 5: The problem with maidens

**Spiral Dragon**

by Greylle

DISCLAIMER: Original series belong to someone else.  
>NOTE: The following is just an idea that came to me and started developing. Not sure how long i'll keep going on it. It's already gone quite a bit further than intended and seems to want to write itself. It is indeed a Umi No Misaki fusioncrossoverish piece, which is an ADULT (seinen) story that managed to impress me with its character development and humor. It can be found at Mangafox if you're old enough and care to give it a try.

Spiral Dragon, part five: Maidens of Sacrifice

* * *

><p>Naruto spat. Partly this was frustration. Mostly it was that the Giant Space Aphid tasted pretty darn nasty and had left that taste in his mouth even after changing back to human.<p>

_I swear, I'm going to need an extra-spicy pork ramen to get that taste out of my mouth,_ Naruto griped to himself as he went looking for a stairway or something to get up out of this area with all the hammocks.

Naruto tried one door after another, finally finding a set of stairs and then running up them to land in a fighting stance. "Never fear, Naruto Uzumaki has Arrived!"

"Too late," said Sasuke, picking up shuriken and kunai.

"We just finished off the last one," said Kakashi.

"I LIKE this spear," said Naruko, making a couple of quick gestures with them. "Kakashi-sensei! What do you call this?"

"Loot?" tried Kakashi.

Naruko gave an entirely flat look to Kakashi. "No. Seriously."

"Plunder, booty, acquired equipment?" tried Kakashi.

"Great," mumbled Naruto, sitting on the deck and sulking.

"It's a _guan dao_," said Sasuke, offering his opinion. "Though normally the blade is more curved than that." He also didn't mention that the weapon was predominantly used by women and traditional for household defense. No, let her find that out after she'd gotten attached to the weapon.

Naruko jangled the little rings set into the blunt side of the polearm, not noticing Sasuke's smirk. "I like it. Almost everything else I used against those guys broke after a couple of hits."

"Is it safe to come out yet?" asked one of the sailors from a hatch.

"Yeah, the monsters are gone," said Naruko brightly.

"Not that," said the sailor. "One guy went crashing through two decks and another guy was throwing FIRE around."

"Oh," said Naruko, before brightening. None of that was HER fault. "It's all over but the pitching of body parts over the side. Watch it though, some of the zombie guys are still twitching a little."

* * *

><p>The messenger bird was released and flew off to the East.<p>

Which was NOT the direction Cloud was in, so Yugito felt a little less than confident about her message actually reaching the correct people. Possibly the bird was simply disoriented from being sealed in a scroll for several days. If that was the case, it would eventually find its way home. She hoped.

In the meantime, she'd learn what she could. It might be possible to get the kunoichi in their group alone and interrogate her. At that age and without extensive training, it would probably just take a few drinks.

* * *

><p>"Naruto. Stop brooding."<p>

Naruto snorted, then did a double-take at Sasuke. "Eh?"

Kakashi took a moment to stare at this as the team dynamic had just changed significantly.

Naruko continued to practice with the spear she had found, as she had to find someone to teach her the basics of the pole-sword (guan dao) other than 'use the sharp end, hold the round part.'

"So your girl-side makes friends faster than you do," said Sasuke. "So your big combat debut fell through. Two decks in fact. So your kekkei genkai is only good for being transportation."

Naruto left off brooding to go into sulking. Fighting as a dragon didn't count because nobody knew it was him after all.

"Be at the docks in a minute!" called out one of the sailors. "It's taking awhile cause of damage to the sails."

"I didn't do it," declared Naruto.

"Nobody was saying you did," noted Sasuke.

"Just wanted it on the record," grumbled Naruto, going back to sulking.

"Well," called out the same sailor. "That and someone went through two decks of the ship and one of our masts is beginning to list a bit to starboard."

Sasuke stared at Naruto.

"Don't say it."

"Didn't need to," pointed out Sasuke.

"Not my fault it's made of such flimsy wood," complained Naruto.

"Flimsy?" asked Sasuke. "It's at least a foot thick. Thicker in the rafters. At least two of which you you went through. How much do you weigh, anyway?"

"I weigh what I normally do," said Naruto, whose scowl slowly relaxed into a more thoughtful look. "I think."

"You were just too high up when you shifted, and you're a bit harder than the deck," said Kakashi as he walked up. "Any idea what's going on at the docks?"

The affected mast creaked a little more and seemed to shift a bit.

* * *

><p>Yugito knew the ship fairly well. The <em>Lady Konoka<em> had been her mission for two weeks once, while a valuable cargo had been transported. As she was there to guard it, she'd made a point of going just about everywhere on the ship in order to familiarize herself with it in case she needed to work out tactics on the fly.

The listing mast was not rigged with sails at the moment, which made it look different. As did the scars and scores and burns along the hull. She suspected there was more damage that she could not see from her current viewpoint.

The dragon was gone, but there were three genin and their sensei on the deck.

The single dock that went out far enough for the big ship to pull up to it had suffered some in previous monster attacks.

"That must'a been some nasty mutha," said one of the dockworkers, acting like he was actually afraid to go out and do the tie-downs.

One of the others started out instead but was clearly hesitant.

"What's the problem?" asked Yugito.

"One of the other ships that came in when the whole problem started," answered some old man. "There were these creatures on board. Human shaped but not human. Hooks and swords and stuff for hands. They swarmed off, it got messy."

"Ah," said Yugito. Civilians facing something like that might find it a bit frightening. For a ninja, particularly one of the higher level ones like herself, such a thing might be considered Tuesday.

"Hi, excuse me, pardon me," said a familiar voice.

Yugito blinked as she realized that the sacrificial maiden she'd spoken to earlier was back and apparently trying to keep an eye on the ship. It was especially notable that she was trying to hide behind one Yugito Ni. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, uhm, I'm not really spying on the ninja," said Karin.

"No?" asked Yugito.

"Would you believe I'm just watching the ship?" asked Karin.

"I'd find that hard to believe," answered Yugito.

"Would you believe I'm just watching to see if that one summons a dragon again?" asked Karin.

"That I might buy in other circumstances, but not so much now," noted Yugito.

"Oh," said Karin, looking nervous.

Yugito considered the 'maiden of sacrifice' and the ship briefly, putting clues together. "So, you're interested in one of the genin?"

"ACK!"

Yugito nodded, just the wide-eyed stare and the defensive gestures indicating to her that she'd pretty much nailed it. How best to have fun with this situation and possibly get more information? "You don't seem like the sort to go for another girl, and the dark broody one looks too young. So... that leaves the blonde boy."

"I... ah... I mean, that's completely silly," said Karin, rubbing the back of her head and trying to laugh it off. "Hahahaha."

Yugito considered that. Befriend this girl and help her get close to the ninja, and she might have a pretty good pipeline on that group. The more complete a report she could put together, the better it would be.

Providing she found a way to do so. Fitting into civilian life wasn't exactly her specialty as a ninja.

Seeing the ninja coming down the docks, Yugito decided to forego any further intervention at this time. She could probably fool the genin and the priestess, but Kakashi Hatake was another matter altogether. Best to retreat for now.

* * *

><p>Kakashi Hatake was a trained and experienced ninja. He had fought in a ninja war, been engaged in so many individual battles and skirmishes that he'd actually lost count, and faced danger in so many forms that he'd thought he'd pretty much seen it all.<p>

As he got off the ship with his genin team, he was reminded that things were not as predictable as they had been.

He immediately noticed Naruto's "Aunt Keri" waiting at the dock. He also picked out the three "Maidens Of Sacrifice" hiding among the crowd. And that old woman, Yae Nagumo. All waiting for them.

Ah, and there was Pakkun. Well, that meant there might be answers at least - that would explain Keri's presence.

Now why did he have the feeling that something was about to hit the fan?

* * *

><p>Kakashi Hatake could appreciate the small shrine that they'd appropriated. The majority of ninja, no matter their affiliation or mission objectives, tended to avoid bringing problems to shrines or major temples. For one thing, there was little or no money stored at such places. For another thing, in a world where a jutsu to summon the death-god was known - there was no guarantee that the deity in question was a mere superstition.<p>

Kakashi could also appreciate the privacy seals that Keri had thrown up. Simple, solid, and done with an economy of motion and power.

What was being said though - that was a little harder to wrap his head around.

"Marked by a god of dragons, born on the precise date necessary, and of the Uzumaki line - which traces back to those of the dragon blooded," said Yae Nagumo. "Yes, I'm quite certain."

"I see," said Naruto, nodding his head and then holding that position for a moment. "...Okay, I lied. I don't see."

From her position seated to his immediate left, Keri very thoughtfully reached over and thwacked Naruto on the back of the head. Coming from Keri, Naruto actually felt this and also broke some floorboards with his face.

"Naruto," said Keri, delicately coughing into one hand. "Pay attention. According to the tenents of their faith - you are the chosen one. The dragon-god avatar or representitive."

"But the dragon-god is that BIG one, or you," tried Naruto.

"No, I am not entirely of this world or tied to it, and the god of dragons imbued you with HIS essence to activate your bloodline in full," explained Keri, though knowing that hadn't been how Naruto's bloodline had originally been. "Everything else fits. You are the dragon-god. However, you are also a genin of Konohagakure and so have responsibilities elsewhere."

"Which is why we're trying to settle this quickly," said Yae, before half-turning to the side. "Rinne?"

The little girl with the big glasses nodded and quickly tapped the chime with a striker.

"What are you doing?" demanded Yae of the three Maidens. "You stand before the dragon-god!"

Instantly the three young women went to kneeling on their seat-cushions, heads lowered.

"I will now formally introduce you," said Yae, nodding towards Rinne who rung the chime again.

Naruto gulped from his own cushion, the whole 'maiden of sacrifice' thing sending all sorts of unpleasant scenarios through his head.

"Giver of blessings, Maiden of the Sea. Shizuku Narumi."

Shizuku brought her head up, her expression pensive that quickly schooled into calm.

"Giver of prosperity, Maiden of Fire. Karin Nagumo."

Karin's face was already calm, having had time to compose herself.

"Giver of protection, Maiden of Wind," introduced Yae. "Soyogi Mitsurugi."

Naruto decided she didn't look calm. Just very disapproving.

"Now, as always, they still revere the dragon-god," said Yae. "They are the Cape Maidens. The Maidens Of Sacrifice."

"Uhm, nice to meet you, I guess," said Naruto nervously. _She's not going to suggest..._

"Since you are a genin and not likely to remain here," said Yae. "Though that will hopefully change in the future, that is the case for now. So, for now at least, we can get something accomplished. Dragon-god, if you would choose -"

_ZIPPPPPPPP!_

Keri regarded the stiffly sitting Naruto and then reached out and finger-flicked him in the head. There was a puff of smoke and a log fell over.

"He managed that substitution very smoothly," noted Kakashi.

"He just snuck past the wards," indicated Keri, pointing.

"Why do you suppose he reacted like that?" asked Yae.

"Because he thinks you're going to make him eat one of these girls, maybe," suggested Kakashi.

Yae just stared for a few moments. "Where did he ever get an idea like THAT?"

"Uhm," said a fidgeting Karin.

"Rinne? See if you can find the dragon-god and calm him down," said Yae, sighing at the end of that.

* * *

><p><em>Zoop!<em>

Yugito Ni recognized the spiky-haired blonde as he ran down the alleyway, finally bunching his legs under himself and leaping. She also noticed that whatever else about the obviously panicked genin, he had a little problem with judging distances. He missed the roof, overshooting it by at least ten feet, and started yelling something that she couldn't quite make out.

He'd also left a sizable impression in the ground from his point of take off, which was quite unusual. Perhaps he had poor chakra control. In any case, the way his arms and legs were flailing around as he arced up over the village indicated some lack of control there as well.

Yugito almost leapt after him, but that would have caused anyone watching her to realize that she was NOT just a civilian. It was a sign of her distraction that she nearly made such a genin sort of mistake. Well, maybe it was the whole cat-nature thing to go chasing after things which fled.

Then a short girl with long hair, big glasses, and wearing a shrine priestess uniform ran along past her - leaping to the rooftop (barely making it and spending a few seconds windmilling her arms) before going on with her pursuit.

Yugito blinked and wondered if the girl was some genin from yet another village.

* * *

><p>"Not gonna eat ANYONE," said Naruto as he freed himself from the crater he'd inadvertantly made in the street.<p>

"You really do need to work on those landings," came a dry response.

"Sasuke?" asked Naruto, clearing his head as he got back up.

"How hard did you hit your head..." Sasuke's voice trailed off as he checked the size of the crater. "Never mind."

"Look, there are some things I just refuse to..." Naruto began.

A girl landed nearby.

"AIEEEEEEEEE!" responded Naruto, running off.

The little girl let out a little puff of air.

"What exactly are you trying to get him to do?" asked Sasuke. "You're one of the girls in the contest, right?"

The little girl nodded. "Rinne Yagumo."

_So she's a shrine priestess in training, that explains the outfit. Possibly that explains the leap from that roof over there to here too. Do shrine priestesses all have some training in chakra manipulation?_ Sasuke didn't think the little girl offered any credible threat to Naruto, but... "So, why are you after him?"

"He left the meeting abruptly, Obaachan sent me after him." Rinne looked over Sasuke as if trying to figure him out.

"Well, I don't know where he is, but I think I know where he'll be," said Sasuke, figuring he'd be able to observe this little girl and see exactly what she was up to.

* * *

><p>"Well, we're going to have to work on some aspects of this," said Keri.<p>

"Yes, I suppose so," said Yae, shaking her head. "So much lore has been lost. I certainly didn't expect..."

"HA! Nobody expects the Jashinite Inquisition!"

Keri blinked and half-turned to regard the three cloaked cultists. "Who are these morons?"

"No idea actually," said Yae.

"No... we just introduced ourselves!" said the lead Jashinite, fingering his spiffy robes of office.

"Oh, so you're the 'Jashinite Inquisition' then?" asked Keri.

"Ah," said Yae.

"So what's the Jashinite Inquisition anyway? I'm not familiar with it," said Keri.

"We are the clergy of Jashin!" said the lead cultist.

"Jashin the mighty!" seconded the second cultist.

"Jashin the terrible!" thirded the third cultist.

"Jashin the fearsome!" added the lead cultist.

"Jashin the -" the second cultist stopped and visibly pondered for a few seconds. "Jashin the tidy!"

"Who's Jashin?" asked Keri.

"Jashin is the Lord Of Slaughter, Emperor Of Murder, Bringer Of Pain," said the lead cultist.

"Jashin is the god of despair, pain, dentists, suffering, and little black goatees," added the second.

"Jashin is the patron of assassins, pirates, poisoners, and those whose professions involve pain and suffering," said the third. "Jashin is the crusher of hope, ender of dreams, and defenestrator of desires!"

"Oh, well, good luck with that," said Keri, turning to leave.

"Not so fast!" said the lead cultist. "We are taking you two helpless old women hostage! The maidens will have to sacrifice themselves to free you! Ha ha!"

"Ha HA!" seconded the second.

"AH Ha HA!" added the third.

"Why are all the minions I've run into lately, pretty much 'mindless minions'?" Keri asked Yae.

"Don't you women make fun of us! We have knives!" said the second cultist, brandishing a wave-bladed weapon.

"That's a kris, and you're holding it wrong," said Keri reasonably.

"HEY YOU!" yelled someone. "You creeps stay away from my Aunt!"

"That's a glaive," said Keri as the blond girl started swinging the weapon at the now-wildly-dodging cultists.

The glaive swept up, swept down, and split the stone paving with a crack that went on for several feet.

After the third time the girl passed her "aunt" while chasing cultists, said Aunt grabbed her collar. "Hold still so I can get a look at you."

"Something wrong?" asked Yae.

"Uhm," said Naruko, fidgeting nervously.

Keri looked over Naruko, frowning, and her eyes shifted color as she did. Finally she sighed and began walking off, not letting go of the blond polearm-wielder.

"Ack!" managed Naruko as she was dragged off.

"Nagumo-san, we'll have to speak later. Something's come up," said Keri over her shoulder.

"Wait a minute," protested Naruko, grabbing a streetsign with the hand not holding a polearm.

Yae raised an eyebrow as the metal pole the sign was attached to started bending, then ripped out of the ground. Apparently without Keri noticing but with the girl getting quite alarmed.

The Jashin cultists, on the other hand, were probably still running.

"Hmph. Life's getting entertaining in my later years," said Yae Nagumo, deciding she'd go back over her holy scrolls. Surely the kids could play nice if she was just gone for a few days.

* * *

><p>"Where's your room?" asked Keri.<p>

"Why? What are you doing? What's going on?" asked Naruko.

"Ah, Kakashi," said Keri. "Good. How long has this been going on?"

"A couple of days at most," said Kakashi, coming out of his hiding place.

"What is?" asked Naruko.

"What are you supposed to be, child?" asked Keri.

"A kage bunshin of Naruto who used the oiroke no jutsu?" asked Naruko.

"Now for the important question," said Keri. "What and who are you?"

"I'm a kage bunshin of Naruto using the oiroke no jutsu?" asked Naruko, beginning to get jittery when both Kakashi and Keri slowly shook their heads in a negative gesture.

"Uhm? Confused?" tried Naruko

"That we can agree with," said Keri, finding a place to sit down. "Look. You're permanent."

"You can tell that by looking?" asked Kakashi.

"I can sense something of chakra," admitted Keri. "Also natural energy and something of life-force. Naruto won't be able to do it very easily. This girl on the other hand..."

"W-what?" asked Naruko.

"You're human, child, with a trace of draconic power within you," said Keri, who then glanced over at Kakashi. "Much like those shrine maidens."

"They're dragons?" asked Kakashi.

"No, it's just a trace of draconic power in their heritage," said Keri. "I'd have to experiment, but I suspect they have strong gifts in their particular elements. Not ninja though, but some basic chakra control and training."

"Well, they ARE shrine priestesses, and since it was brought up to me that all chakra-based jutsu is not strictly the province of ninja, I looked into it," admitted Kakashi.

"So, what are you saying?" asked Naruko.

"It's probably because once he made you, he considered you to be seperate from him, and you yourself consider yourself to be seperate." Keri sighed. "Despite what you say, I can tell you regard yourself as Naruko."

"So? It's just because I've got to be... Oh my gosh," said Naruko, hugging herself as someone finally went ahead and said it..

"Yes, Pinocchio, you're a real girl," said Keri.

"Eh?" asked Naruko.

"Sorry, I don't think they've got that story here," said Keri. "After this mission, I'm going to have to teach you. There's a lot of things you don't know, but this way we'll have a cover story and identity for you."

"Oh, a shrine priestess who is a relative of Naruto?" asked Kakashi.

"Simple solutions are often best," said Keri.

"Why can't I stay at... with..." Naruko shook her head. "This is so WEIRD."

"Well, it's pretty much par for the course for Konoha's numberone hyperactive unpredictable ninja," said Kakashi, who then facepalmed himself.

"What?" asked Keri.

"I just realized there's now TWO of them," said Kakashi. "If there's ever a third, I'd expect the world to end."

* * *

><p>"WACHOOO!"<p>

"Konohamaru! Cover your mouth when you sneeze!"

"Oh sorry!"

* * *

><p>Sasuke listened to Kakashi explaining things, as Keri was off with Naruko, then turned to the blonde team-member who remained. "This could only happen to you, Naruto."<p>

"So I've got a sister?" asked Naruto, trying to wrap his head about the reality of it.

"I'm not sure, but I think she may be more of a daughter," said Kakashi.

"Urk," said Naruto, wondering if fainting would get him out of this situation.

* * *

><p>"There's two of them," said Jashinite A.<p>

"They're little girls here for the Junior Division," said Jashinite B. "Look, they're in the book."

"Okay, so they're Rossignol's competition? All the more reason to take them out," said Jashinite A.

"Huh, they're both normal farmgirls," said Jashinite B, reading the accounts.

"I don't see any blonde maniacs," said Jashinite C. "Or kunoichi, ninja, or sea monsters."

"Okay, let's do this!" said Jashinite A, drawing a knife.

"Wait a minute. One of them is named 'Sakura Haruno," said Jashinite B.

"Not one of THOSE Haruno, is she?" asked Jashinite A.

"Oh good. We're safe. She says she's not one of those. Despite the pink hair."

"I dunno, if she was one - wouldn't she deny it?" asked Jashinite C.

"We are the chosen of Jashin!" said Jashinite A. "We are not afraid of two little girls!"

"'Afraid' - no," protested Jashinite B. "'Suitably cautious' would be more appropriate."

"Besides," said Jashinite C. "We're priests of Jashin. Pain is something we can respect. We've been getting quite a bit of pain lately, and that deserves some respect - doesn't it?"

"You may have a point there, but if we can't take out these two little girls - then we might as well turn in our spiffy robes." Jashinite A made a forward motion. "As soon as they cross the street, we pounce!"

* * *

><p>"Why me?" asked Kakashi Hatake.<p>

"Because you're his sensei, I'm his Aunt, and he's escaped again," said Keri as she popped the kage bunshin of Naruto that was still there.

"What's up?" asked Sasuke, walking back to the room in time to see 'Naruto' go 'poof' and figure out the basics.

"Naruto, due to ancient agreements involving his clan, is to choose one of the 'Maidens of Sacrifice'," said Kakashi. "NOT to eat."

"I'm not entirely clear on the matter," admitted Keri. "Apparently their scrolls on the subject have some water damage that occurred in the centuries between when they were written and now. Yae Nagumo thinks 'fiancee' or possibly 'clan retainer', but she's thinking it's a bit more 'friendly.' We've settled on 'fiancee' unless we can find a better copy of the scrolls in question."

"All three," voted Sasuke.

"Eh?" asked Kakashi.

"He should take all three," clarified Sasuke.

"Why?" asked Keri.

"Why should I be the only one on the team who has girls being incredibly annoying?" asked Sasuke.

"You're very vindictive aren't you?" noted Keri.

"You can't engage the little girl to him too?" asked Sasuke, thinking of Rinne. He certainly wasn't arguing about the 'vindictive' part. "Then he'd have even more girls being annoying to him than I've got."

Kakashi and Keri stared at Sasuke.

"What?" asked Sasuke.

* * *

><p>Naruto ran, swearing he was NOT going to be forced to eat ANYONE.<p>

He wasn't paying much attention to where he was going, so when he found that he'd just gone over the edge of a cliff - he did what came natural.

Which was to shift automatically to dragon-form, spread wings, and find some place that he could be alone for awhile.

* * *

><p>Fuu wasn't sure what to expect from this assignment. As missions went, it was fairly lame. Except for the sea monsters, which she'd glimpsed a few times now. Oh, and the dragon. Leaf Village apparently had at least one dragon. Nothing compared to a Tailed Beast, but she was willing to admit that the large pseudo-reptillian beast had better manners. It had also done fairly well against the big bug that had been attacking the ship.<p>

She'd started associating with this clueless farmgirl for no other reason that it helped establish her cover identity. Though the reactions to the girl's last name had proven to be amusing.

What WAS the deal with these other 'Haruno' anyway?

She certainly hadn't expected three idiots in black and red silk robes to surround them, brandish knives, and declare that the two girls were now their prisoners.

Fuu spent all of five seconds wondering if she'd have to break cover and deal with this situation. At the end of which, the decision was entirely taken out of her hands.

"I don't think so."

At which point the pink-haired Haruno girl had grabbed the lead cultist's knife arm, tugged him close, and then started kicking him in the face.

Fuu followed suit, figuring if some 'simple farmgirl' could do it - she could get away with it too. Nobody would suspect her cover if she simply restricted herself to taijutsu, right? So she grabbed the wrist of Jashinite B as he tried to stab her, twisted away from the blade, then popped his shoulder out of the joint as she threw him to the side. "Hay Bale Toss!"

Sakura heard Fuu and figured that if the simple farmgirl was calling out her farm-based attack jutsu like that, then she should do the same. "Firewood splitting chop!"

Since Sakura was doing it, then it was perfectly acceptable, right? Fuu smirked as she drove one leg into Jashinite C's solar plexus. "Bull-stopping kick!"

"I..." Sakura was ready to hit one of the Jashinites again except she noticed they were all on the ground already. "Oh. Well."

"C'mon, I want to get some more sunning time in before the competition," said Fuu as she surveyed the broken forms of the fallen cultists. They hadn't even lasted long enough for her to finish stretching out - how rude was that?

"Good idea," agreed Sakura.

There was brief quiet in the alleyway before Jashinite A finally spoke up. "Maybe... we need to consider other ways of serving the mighty Jashin."

"You think?" groaned Jashinite B.

* * *

><p>Naruto's claws dug into the rock as he bled off what was left of his momentum. Letting out a deep groan, he considered his surroundings before curling up and furling his wings around him.<p>

"What a mess," muttered the dragon to himself. He wasn't going to eat anyone if he had any say in it.


	6. Chapter 6:The Contest

**Spiral Dragon**

by Greylle

DISCLAIMER: Original series belong to someone else.  
>NOTE: The following is just an idea that came to me and started developing. Not sure how long i'll keep going on it. It's already gone quite a bit further than intended and seems to want to write itself. It is indeed a Umi No Misaki fusioncrossoverish piece, which is an ADULT (seinen) story that managed to impress me with its character development and humor. It can be found at Mangafox if you're old enough and care to give it a try.

Spiral Dragon, part six: Contest

* * *

><p>Naruto brooded after the question. Wasn't turning into a dragon supposed to FIX things?<p>

"What's a mess?"

"Oh, there's some girls trying to get me to eat them," muttered Naruto. "My sensei is no help. My shadow clone technique is going wacky. And..." Slowly Naruto lifted his head as he realized that way out here in the water someone had just addressed him.

A woman's head was sticking out of the waves.

"You're not going to try and get me to eat you or something are you?" asked Naruto.

"Actually, no," said the girl. "I think it's rather rude to try and eat someone you haven't met. It's doubly rude to eat someone you HAVE met."

"Yes! That's it exactly," agreed Naruto with great enthusiasm. At least THAT attitude made sense.

Apparently heartened by that agreement, the girl in the water moved closer. "I'm Trieste, by the way. You seem to be fairly reasonable, for a dragon especially."

"You've met a lot of dragons?" asked Naruto.

"Err, no, actually," admitted Trieste, who then frowned. "I suppose I'm doing it too. Judging based on rumors and legends and such. It annoys me no end when humans do that to me!"

Naruto cocked his head at that, aided by having a flexible neck. "You're not human?"

The girl pulled herself up to one of the small bits of the rock that was not occupied by dragon, revealing that she was somewhat fishy-looking from the hips down.

"Oh," summed up Naruto after staring for a few minutes and determining that the parts WERE actually part of her. Then trying not to stare. "You're not one of the sea monsters who has been running around smashing things are you?"

"Certainly not!" exclaimed Trieste. "One of those damnable humans stole my mirror! It's him that's summoning up monsters!"

"Oh," said Naruto.

"It's humans that do all this, and they keep trying to catch and eat ME!" exclaimed Trieste. "Do I look like some menu item for their luncheons?"

"No," answered Naruto with considerable feeling on the matter. "Eating people, whether they have two legs or not, is entirely wrong."

"Or four!" declared Trieste, now glancing up at the big dragon. "You're rather big, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if some uppity human didn't try cooking YOU up."

"Well, they're not ALL bad," said Naruto.

"I've never met one that isn't!" Trieste hmphed and looked out at the water. "You try and find ONE that isn't some... PERSON-vore!"

* * *

><p>Kakashi Hatake sighed as he slid off his genin's back to land on the rock. "Well, where is this-"<p>

A head popped up out in the water, looking VERY distrustful.

"-mermaid," finished Kakashi, who then rubbed the back of his head. "Okay."

"She knows how these sea monsters were summoned, Kakashi-sensei," said Naruto helpfully. "Someone stole her something-or-other."

"My mirror," said the girl.

"He's not going to eat you," Naruto said.

"How do you know that?" asked the girl. "He's human. Probably like all the others."

"How many jonin ninja from the Leaf Village have you met?" asked Kakashi.

The girl frowned. "What's a 'jonin'? What's a 'ninja'?"

Kakashi noted that this far out, the water was sufficiently still for him to walk out to where the girl was. He did so, noting the girl getting alarmed and moving away, and so he then stopped and knelt. "I have absolutely no desire to eat mermaid flesh."

"That's good, eating people is WRONG," said Naruto very emphatically as if he wanted to make sure Kakashi knew his viewpoint on such.

"Now, what can you tell me about this mirror?" asked Kakashi.

"Well, I haven't met anyone who could walk on water, even if you're doing it by doing something to the water," said Trieste. She dove under the surface, revealing her tail briefly, then rose up again at the rock and lifted herself up partway. Though she pointedly kept an eye on the human and kept her lower half in the water just in case.

"You can tell how I'm doing the technique? Interesting," mused Kakashi.

"My mirror was stolen by a man who came here," said Trieste. "He had blue skin, gills, and shark-like teeth."

"Sounds like someone from Kirigakure," said Kakashi, trying to encourage the girl. "They have a few bloodlines like that."

"At first I thought it was just one of the divers that come out every so often, investigating shipwrecks that were picked clean long ago," said Trieste. "Then I was curious because he did not need to go up for air and brought no devices with him."

"And he found your mirror?" asked Kakashi.

"The mirror is very old, and was in one of the ships," said Trieste. "It is used to summon and command things from other worlds. I tried to stop him from taking it, but he knew what it was and summoned a sea-beast. I had to flee."

"Of course," said Kakashi.

"Are you staring at my breasts?" asked Trieste.

"No, not at all," said Kakashi.

"Hmmm," said Trieste, clearly not convinced. "So... human. If you find my mirror, what will you do?"

Kakashi seemed to contemplate the water for a few moments before replying. "It sounds fairly dangerous. I'd have to ask some priestesses if they know a way to deal with it before I could return it to you."

"It is my mirror," protested Trieste.

"If it's your mirror, then you're responsible for all those attacks on the local humans, aren't you?" asked Kakashi. He shrugged a moment later. "If you could protect it from someone like that, why didn't you?"

The mermaid was silent for a moment, before nodding. "Very well then. Shall I describe it for you, that you know what to look for?"

"That would be helpful," admitted Kakashi.

* * *

><p><em>Elsewhere:<em>  
>"Why do you look like that?"<p>

"I am Bai Wu, I can look however I damn well please."

"Well, whatever. There are dragons in the Elemental Countries."

"There are? Plural?"

"Two. There might be a third but the signature keeps vanishing."

"You're sure about this Qing Long? They're not those rather anemic lizard specimens are they?"

"I am quite positive about one. The other two are a bit more iffy. The one that keeps vanishing might be the trickster."

Bai Wu frowned and considered his colleague. "What does the Emperor in Yellow say of this?"

"That's the odd thing," said Qing Long, his expression sour. "He said that he got the better of the deal, and said that the trickster allowed himself to be tricked - because it was funnier that way."

"The Emperor doesn't have a sense of humor," said Bai Wu, his frown increasing ever so slightly.

"That was the concerning part," admitted Qing Long.

"I'm busy right now," said Bai Wu. "I'll get to it after I attend to matters at my palace."

Qing Long watched Bai Wu fade out, then turned to the single doorway. "Well, that lets him out. The Palace of the West has a hundred human women he keeps there. He'll be a decade or more before he investigates, if then."

A woman with exceptionally long red hair faded into view, looking dispassionately back. "So who do you suggest we send? Xian Wu?"

Qing Long arched an eyebrow, showing an emotion besides boredom for the first time in well over a mortal year. "For an investigation, Zhu Que? I'd agree if we were talking execution."

"Then, if investigation is what we want, I should go myself," said Zhu Que.

* * *

><p>"Well, he was right, but she was also lying," said Kakashi.<p>

"Huh? How can you tell?" asked Naruto.

"Naruto? Change back before you lashing that tail takes out a building."

"Oh, right." Naruto blurred, orange-ed, and shifted.

* * *

><p>Keri reached for her sake cup. Frankly the brew was on the potent side, but as she wasn't exactly human - it had little effect on her. Five minutes from now, it would be completely gone. "So, anyway, that's the deal."<p>

"Ish good," said Yae, who'd begun drinking sake with 'spring sake' at the age of eight and graduated to the real stuff at twelve. She'd been drinking for years and was very alcohol tolerant. "I'm mean 'it's good then' - the deal is in accordance with our own tradition and legends."

"Kakashi explained on the trip to meet with that mermaid that the 'sacrifice' doesn't mean he has to eat a 'maiden of sacrifice' but I think he remains a little unclear on the whole thing." Keri looked over towards where the three ninja were. Kakashi was looking over the top of his book at where Naruto was apparently complaining with Sasuke occasionally throwing a snarky comment in.

"Interesting team dynamic, not exactly what I was expecting from this group," said Yae Nagumo.

"Yes, well, 'Team 7' is an atypical ninja group from Konohagakure - which itself is atypical of ninja villages in many respects," admitted Keri.

"What about you?" asked Yae.

"I am not truly OF this world, though I am IN it," said Keri. "Give me a few centuries, and perhaps that will change."

Yae Nagumo sighed. "The Mirror does not belong to the mermaid, you know. It was one of the three artifacts of our shrine. It was stolen, and then those who stole it couldn't control the Mirror's power - and their ship sank."

"Yes, I suspected it was something like that," admitted Keri. "A mirror - are the other two artifacts a sword and an orb?"

"I'm not surprised you're familiar with them," said Yae, before checking the little sake jars being heated. Judging one to be ready, she quickly poured a bit into their two dishes.

"It's a common pattern," said Keri. "I'm not familiar with what each does. The Mirror is for summoning?"

"The **Dragon's Eye Mirror** sees the paths between worlds and can open those paths," said Yae, pausing to slug back the contents of her dish before pouring again. "The **Dragonsword, Talon**, is said to be a blade of great power. Unfortunately, the blade itself rusted away. The hilt and tsuba are untarnished though of plain design."

"If the blade rusted away, then it was normal steel," said Keri, sipping at her own dish and allowing it to swirl over her tongue before swallowing. "I'm familiar with similar designs. You simply need a new blade in the appropriate spot when the weapon is active."

"That brings us to the Orb, the **Dragon's Heart**," said Yae. "Which is quite capable of defending itself. The thief who tried to steal it, well, we found what was left of him."

Keri considered for a few moments. "Up for a flight?"

Yae grinned, her age at odds with the childish glee there for a moment.

"Hatake-san," called out Keri. "I am going with Nagumo-san to their island to check a few things out. I expect to be gone for two days. I shall return here as soon as I have answers and from here return to Konohagakure. I have business at my shrine after all."

Kakashi nodded at that, then seemed to return his attention to the book in his hands.

* * *

><p>"So, yeah, we're still figuring out the whole 'dragon' thing," said Naruko. "Of course, I'm still figuring out the whole 'girl' thing since my memories are those of Naruto's until a few days ago."<p>

"So you know what a guy's like," said Karin, curious.

"Well, sort of," said Naruko. "Don't forget, as far as years of life are concerned - we're twelve. It's just that both our bodies are a little further along than the calendar indicates, ya know."

"'Twelve'?" asked Karin.

"When Naruto's used his 'Sexy Jutsu' in the past, the result has always been a girl of around eighteen," said Naruko. "So it depends on how you look at it. I'm either a few days old, twelve years old, or about sixteen I think. A little younger than the usual Sexy Jutsu. Not that I expect him to use that anymore."

"Considering that he got a sister out of the side-effect, I'd imagine not," put in Soyogi.

"So, can you tell us anything about the Dragon God?" asked Shizuku.

"Not much to tell, like I said, we're still trying to get a handle on the whole dragon thing," said Naruko. "What about you guys?"

"Not much to tell," said Shizuku.

"We're the shrine maidens, the 'maidens of sacrifice' to the Dragon God," added Soyogi.

"Yeah, but you also smell of your element," said Naruko. "So I figured you've got something going on there."

"Eh?" asked all three.

"You aren't aware of it?" asked Naruko. "You, Shizuku-san, smell of the ocean. You've got the same scent the sea does right after a storm. Soyogi-san smells like the wind through grass. Karin-san? Your scent is like incense."

"Uhm." Shizuku hesitated, checking the other two and sniffing the air. "I don't smell anything like that, and I don't think I'm wearing a scent."

"I handled some incense earlier," said Karin. "Maybe that's what you smell?"

"Over the past few days I've noticed my sense of smell getting sharper," said Naruko with a shrug. "So is my hearing. Anyway, we've got the shrine in Konoha - you girls are welcome to come stay over there anytime you like. According to Keri-san I'll be a shrine maiden over there. It'd be cool, you can show me what's expected of a shrine maiden."

* * *

><p>Naruto shivered. "I just got this feeling of Doom getting ready to ambush me."<p>

"Ah," said Kakashi, turning a page in his book. "That's fairly typical for ninja actually. It just usually takes longer to show up than you've been a ninja. Except during wars and the like."

"So are you finally convinced?" asked Sasuke.

"I just want it completely clear," grumbled Naruto. "I get hungry but..."

"Idiot," said Sasuke. "Of course, even if you don't eat them - it doesn't mean they can't give you trouble."

"So true," said Kakashi.

"So what do we do now?" asked Naruto. "Trieste wants her mirror back."

"I don't think so," said Kakashi. "For one thing, if it WAS her mirror - it should have a motif more in common with what you'd expect of a mermaid."

"She really was a mermaid?" asked Sasuke, curious.

"If she wasn't a real mermaid, she was a very good impersonation of one," noted Kakashi.

"Huh," said Sasuke.

"As to what we're doing next," said Kakashi. "We're going to deal with this guy."

"What guy?" asked Naruto.

"HOLD THERE VARLET!"

"Oh, that guy," said Naruto.

"Thou dost face the Chosen Of Mighty Jashin, the noble Blue Thunder of Jashin himself!" said the blue-armored ninja-type.

"You want to beat him up or shall I?" Naruto asked Sasuke.

Sasuke shrugged ever so slightly.

"They're dissing you, boss! You're gonna have to tear 'em up!"

"Silence wretch," commanded the Chosen, aka Satsubatsu, alias Alain. "These ninja are naught but scum that shall be wiped from my presence. The rat-faced youth there-"

Sasuke made a suspicious noise. Suspiciously like he had forced down laughter. Naruto glared at Sasuke in response.

"-and the dainty little boy in blue should be given the time to face their imminent destruction."

Sasuke blinked and unslumped just a bit. "Did he just call me 'dainty'?"

"Indeed, fool, for you bear the look of some boy toy that some lordling would keep to warm his bed," said the Chosen of Jashin.

"Uh, huh," said Sasuke, stretching out. "Naruto?"

"Yeah?" asked Naruto.

Sasuke actually smiled a little. "He's mine."

"Thou dost," began the Chosen of Jashin just before Sasuke blurred.

* * *

><p>Yae Nagumo got into the boat, then turned to see what was keeping the shrine priestess.<p>

Which was when she got her first look at what Keri was doing.

"I can't believe these grow here," said Keri, looking at some plants.

"Blue Eveningbells," said Yae. "Sometimes called 'dragonbane' or 'feverfew' - why?"

"They call it dragonbane?" asked Keri. She paused and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, maybe if it was an Ice Dragon. That could be baneful for a little while."

"Why? What would you call it?" asked Yae curiously.

"With adamantine dragons? Dragonrut," answered Keri, giving a wide berth to the plants.

"Oh?" asked Yae, seeing a potential use for such a thing. Perhaps later though. Much later.

Keri glanced back at the plants and shuddered before she got onto the boat.

"How many kinds of dragons are there, anyway?" asked Yae much later as they were out over the water.

"Well, that depends," said Keri, rowing the ship with sufficient force that it was leaving a wake.. "On this world, there are only two dragons and one Elder Being that sometimes takes the form of a dragon. That I'm familiar with at least."

"Ah, well," said Yae. "According to our records, there were four types of dragons. Wind, Ice, Fire, and Sea. The previous dragon-god was Sea."

"Could be elemental affinity rather than separate breeds, but maybe breeds," said Keri. She simply continued rowing the ship for a few minutes in silence. "I'll have to check and see which it is."

* * *

><p>Sasuke landed to the side of the buffoon.<p>

"Aren't those the three Jashinite priests?" asked Kakashi, pointing at the black-cloaked minions. "I think I heard where a couple of average farm girls managed to beat them up."

"They ARE faceless minions of mere fodder level," admitted the lead Jashinite.

"Gee. Thanks," grumbled one of the minions.

"I shall - " said the leader, stepping forward, only to trip and fall.

"He's more formidable than he looks," said Sasuke. "Not so much I couldn't put some trip wires down."

"Sasuke!" said Naruto, sounding delighted. "You pranked an enemy. I'm so proud of you!"

Sasuke frowned as he considered that perhaps Naruto had begun rubbing off on him. How distasteful.

"Fools, this cannot stop the Chosen of Jashin!" said the swordsman as he got back up. "Behold the instrument of your doom!"

"It's a katana," said Naruto. "So?"

"No, it's a no-dachi," said Sasuke.

"It's a MAGIC sword," said the Jashinite.

"Really? Is that what the glowy marks on it mean?" asked Naruto.

"What glowy marks?" asked Sasuke.

"The blue glowy marks on the blade," said Naruto, pointing.

The Jashinite looked at his sword, looked at Naruto, looked at his sword again, then made a decision. "You think to make a fool of me?"

"No need for Naruto to do that," said Kakashi as he turned a page in his book.

"Dobe, there's no marks on it," said Sasuke reasonably.

"Oh," said Naruto. "You sure?"

"Nobody else sees them, so it's probably related to your kekkei genkai," hinted Sasuke.

"Ah, so you're the one!" said the Jashinite, pointing triumphantly at the blonde ninja. "You're the Uchiha!"

"No he's not," said Sasuke.

"Trust me, I'm not," said Naruto.

"Ah, but you're a ninja, skilled in the arts of deception," said the Jashinite. "Therefore - you ARE the Uchiha because you deny it."

"I don't think I've ever heard someone say Naruto is skilled in the arts of deception before," mused Kakashi from where he was reading his book.

"Seriously, he is NOT the Uchiha," said Sasuke. "I am."

"Well, prove it, do that Sharingan thingie," said the Jashinite.

"Well..." hedged Sasuke.

"See? I knew it!" declared the Jashinite.

Sasuke blinked and turned to Naruto. "Naruto. There were times I considered you the worst idiot in the world."

"Gee, thanks," said Naruto, managing to sound quite sarcastic.

"Now I'm having to change that a bit," said Sasuke. "You're simply the worst amateur idiot. This person is a thorough professional."

Naruto didn't look particularly appeased by that.

"Oh, Naruto? Sasuke? I was curious," said Kakashi. "What would happen if you both tried to blow fireballs at a single target?"

"It doesn't matter, for my sword can cut through ANY jutsu!" said the Jashinite.

There was the sound of a book closing and Kakashi stood up. "Oh? That sounds interesting. Sasuke? Naruto? Have you heard of the 'scientific method' by any chance?"

"No, Kakashi-sensei," said Naruto.

"If someone provides a theory such as 'a sword which can cut through jutsu' - it then falls upon others to prove or disprove that through experimentation," said Kakashi. "That's how many fuuinjutsu were developed."

"I see," said Naruto, turning back to the Jashinites.

"Ah," said Sasuke, likewise turning his full attention back to the Jashinites.

"Fools!" declared the Jashinite. Oddly enough though, his three minions were in the process of sneaking away.

* * *

><p>Naruko looked up. "What's that?"<p>

"Sounds like someone's setting off fireworks," opined Karin Nagumo.

"Yeah," said Naruko after a bit. "Suppose I should investigate..."

Three Jashinite priests, one with his robe on fire, ran past their doorway.

"... or maybe not," finished Naruko.

"Those three again?" asked Soyogi.

"Looks like it," said Karin.

"So, you were saying about the shrine in Konoha?" asked Soyogi.

"Oh yeah, you really should see it," said Naruko.

* * *

><p>When he'd originally decided to meddle with a Naruto timeline, Toltiir had been curious after seeing the Seven Swordsmen Of The Mist - where had these odd weapons come from when all the jutsu users in Konohagakure and the Ninja Nations did their spelljutsu but there were no enchanters that he could see?

Just because he was a trickster and limiting his perceptions to make things more amusing didn't mean that he couldn't track things down when curiosity came into play.

SOMEONE had to have made such things after all. Hiramekarei was also considerably different from Samehada so it was likely there had been several such craftsmen and not simply one. That wasn't even getting past such oddities as the Sealing Jar.

It was unlikely that someone had just pulled them out of their buttocks after all.

The resulting answer, when he found it, caused the little cat-shaped being to facepaw. There were the Elemental Countries where the ninja fought, and there was the rest of the world with their ruined cities and encroaching jungles and vast deserts and blasted plains. There were also a few nations scattered about - one of whom utilized chakra in an entirely different manner from the ninja nations.

Unfortunately, they kept collapsing in one civil war after another and never really developed beyond a certain point. Refugees fled with the occasional "family treasure" and ended up losing those when they got to the relatively stable Elemental Countries.

There were also those items created by the Sage of Six Paths and items summoned across the dimensional barriers through summoning arrays. And the occasional weapon used to kill 1000 people that developed magical abilities because of that. Which seemed awfully odd to Toltiir but perhaps it made sense to the people involved?

So he'd put a few things more into the setting, scattering them around in the world's past. Just to see what would happen.

* * *

><p>"Jutsu-breaking sword!" called out Alain, cutting through the fireball so that the blast passed to either side of him without harm.<p>

A little more intrigued, Sasuke threw shuriken and then used a clone technique to triple the number. Alain's sword spun around, disrupting the illusion and deflecting shuriken.

"You see," said Alain. "I am invincible."

Naruto looked around briefly, found a large dumpster sitting against the wall and walked over to it.

"Let's try this then," said Sasuke, regarding the swordsman. Abruptly there were three Sasuke trading positions and charging the swordsman.

Alain, the lead Jashinite (though as his minions had fled - he was currently the sole Jashinite facing the ninja), slammed his sword point-first into the concrete floor. A wave of chakra went out and there was abruptly one Sasuke who was now backing off.

"Get back, Sasuke."

Sasuke glanced towards Naruto, his eyes opened slightly more at what he was seeing, and he leapt back very quickly.

A fully loaded industrial-sized dumpster landed atop Alain. He blocked with his sword, but what he expected to do about all that mass coming down on him was not entirely clear.

"Naruto!" scolded Sasuke. "I was still fighting him."

"Hey, it was MY turn," complained Naruto.

"Well, how am I supposed to fight him and test that sword out if you've gone squishing him?" asked Sasuke, really feeling put upon.

"I... fight... on..." said someone under the dumpster, sounding as if he wasn't doing too well.

"No you're not, be stone cold dead in a moment," complained Sasuke.

"I'm not dead," insisted Alain. "I am the mighty blue thunder of Jashin."

"Look you," said Sasuke, leaning down. "The wheels of this here garbage cart have just over a one foot clearance from the ground. The whole thing has to weigh, fully loaded, at least three tons."

"At least," agreed Naruto.

"You, my ignobly squished opponent, tried to block it with a sword that cuts chakra. Unfortunately, my idiot team-mate here," began Sasuke.

"HEY!" interrupted Naruto.

"Ahem," said Sasuke before continuing his discussion. "He threw a perfectly normal garbage cart atop you. No chakra involved. Your sword, while sharp, was not sufficient to block such a thing and brought the full weight of the dumpster upon your body."

"I'm not dead," insisted Alain from somewhere below the dumpster. "I'm just resting."

"Next thing you'll be telling us is that you're pining for the fjords or some such," said Kakashi, turning another page in his orange book.

"What's a 'fjord'?" asked Alain in a voice that sounded even worse.

"I think it's an old kind of wagon or something like that," said Sasuke.

"Oh, made of pine wood?" asked Naruto.

"I suppose," said Sasuke.

Naruto went over to the dumpster, lifted up one end and then looked underneath.

"Mind if I take this?" said Sasuke, grabbing the sword.

"Well, actually, yes," said Alain, who looked pretty much flattened. Though the sword seemed to have protected him some - as the concrete floor was crushed underneath him.

"Tough, spoils of war," said Sasuke, nodding at Naruto to drop the dumpster.

"How come YOU get the magic jutsu-cutting sword?" asked Naruto, slowly lowering the dumpster.

"What were your grades in kenjutsu at the Academy?" asked Sasuke.

"Uhm..."

"Do I really need to say more?" said Sasuke.

After a few moments, with Sasuke and Naruto walking off and arguing about the sword, Kakashi sighed and closed his book. "You still there?"

"No," said Alain, guessing what the jonin was about to do.

"I'm kind of impressed you're still able to speak," said Kakashi, rolling the dumpster off to the side.

"I'm a follower of Jashin the mighty," said Alain weakly. "I'm his mighty Blue Thunder. I shall..."

Kakashi used an earth technique to bury the swordsman after that last breath went out. At least they wouldn't have to face this moron again.

* * *

><p>"So this is it," said Keri, drawing the hilt from the shrine.<p>

"Yes, afraid so," said Yae. "All that's left is that crumbling bit of history."

_FWASH! Zuummmmmmm_

"'crumbling bit of history'?" repeated Yae, a bit less certain this time as she looked at three feet of orange chakra being emitted by the hilt.

"Draconic chakra is necessary to activate it," said Keri, making a couple of passes with the weapon before dismissing the blade. "Probably someone stuck a normal sword blade into it so they could use it without the chakra requirement."

"Oh," said Yae. "I suppose that makes sense."

"Drains chakra fairly quickly," said Keri as she closed the doors to the cabinet. "Now, can I see your records?"

"This way," said Yae Nagumo. She wouldn't show these to just anyone, but then - this wasn't just anyone was it?

* * *

><p>"Sakura Haruno," said Sakura as she sat down.<p>

"You're not..." asked the blonde with the short pigtails.

"NO!" said Sakura, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, what IS it with this other Haruno family?"

"You don't want to know," said the blonde. "Anyway, I'm Shizue Hirara."

The girl with her hair in a bun nodded. "Konatsu Kuruma."

The glasses-wearing girl looked down at her hands but introduced herself as well. "Suzuho Yoshino."

"Fuu," said Fuu.

"That accent," said Konatsu. "You're from Taki aren't you?"

"Oh, I travel a lot," said Fuu, trying to recall her cover story.

"So, are you going to the barbeque tonight?" asked Shizue.

"That's the plan," said Sakura. "They're going to take pictures for the books they'll sell afterwards right? I'm not sure I feel right about that."

"Eh, they won't do anything too risque," said Shizue, figuring that would be Sakura's objection.

"The Cape Maidens are supposed to be there," said Konatsu. "Not participating of course. Should be interesting though."

* * *

><p>Alain felt the darkness deepen around him. He'd been crushed under about three tons of metal, then stabbed through the heart with a kunai.<p>

Alain, the Blue Thunder of Jashin, brother to Rossignol, died of massive injuries.

He was therefore very surprised when he woke up after an indeterminate time. Since he'd been found, put in a coffin, and buried in an unmarked grave by that time - he awoke to darkness and a touch of claustrophobia.

Alain was able to determine a couple of things though. One being that he apparently didn't need to breathe, except for when he was shouting for someone to let his noble self out. The second being that he didn't actually have a pulse.

If this was the afterlife, Alain decided it was not at all like he'd been led to believe and he was less than happy with it.

Slowly Alain began the process of trying to force the thankfully-cheap coffin open and then dig his way out of the grave, not sure if he was dead but he was quite certain that he was going to find those ninja and make them pay for this affront. He was not defeated yet!

* * *

><p>"What kind of gig is this again?" asked the drummer.<p>

"Technically, it's a rehearsal," said the bass player.

"But we're getting paid for it, right?" asked the lead guitarist.

"It's a beach barbeque for contestants of the beauty contest," said the rhythm guitar player. "We get food out of it, and if we play our cards right we could lucky out of it as well."

The lead guitarist visibly considered that and looked out over the crowd. "Well, most of them are a bit young. Whatever though."

"This might be our big break though," said the drummer. "I mean, some of these contestants are ninja, right?"

"I've heard that rumor," admitted the lead guitarist.

"There's also the bodyguards, right-o, and so what?" asked the bass player.

"Well now," said the drummer. "One thing's for sure. Ninja get around, and they got money. We do a good job, they might remember the 'Silver Beetles' and put in a word for us, eh?"

"Could be, ain't gonna put odds on it though," said the lead guitarist. "Let's start with something soft and 'backgroundish' shall we?"

* * *

><p>Kakashi looked over the crowd with a practiced eye. On seeing Tsunade and Shizune present on one end, with Jiraiya at the far end from them, he offered a silent prayer to the kami that they STAYED at far ends.<p>

Oh, Jiraiya was leaving with that one woman he was pretty sure was not only a kunoichi but one from Cloud. Well, if anyone could handle the situation - it was Jiraiya.

Anko Mitarashi was another he knew, and she was just sitting back away from the fire, silently watching the crowd. As long as she didn't get too drunk, which was unlikely, she'd be fine herself.

The three shrine maidens were over there with a bunch of the contestants, including Sakura, near where Tsunade was apparently drinking heavily.

Naruto was over there with Sasuke. It looked like Naruto had forgotten the whole point of guarding things and was now piling food onto his plate. Oh, he'd just put the plate down and was now staring out to sea.

"Maybe I can hope he's just imagined something?" asked Kakashi of the heavens.

"RRRRARGHHHHHH!"

"Of course not," said Kakashi.

* * *

><p>Sakura broke off her description of an imaginary "boyfriend back home" (who bore a strange resemblence to one of the two younger ninja bodyguards) when the waters began swelling up. When those waters began sluicing off the rising form that had been covered by them, any pretense of conversation was pretty much ended.<p>

There was a globular body, with a single large eye, and lots of tentacles. Most of which looked to have MOUTHS on their ends.

The various beauty contestants mainly screamed.

It took a second look to realize there was someone STANDING on the monster, mainly because of the size of the monster and the poor lighting as the sun had just gone down and they WERE at a beach.

"Foolish mortals! Here comes your reckoning!"

At which point someone, Sakura wasn't sure who, managed to entirely douse the campfire. Leaving mostly everything just plain dark.

"A clever ploy, but it will not save you from Jashin's wrath!"

There came a roar of noise and then sounds of combat between what seemed like VERY large creatures.

Sakura tried to blink her eyes rapidly, so that she could see exactly what was going on.

* * *

><p>The light of the campfire and those torches all went out at the same time.<p>

Naruto reached inside and triggered the change back to what was now his true form.

As he did the light level went from 'really darn dim' to 'twilight' - not enough to see well but he could now discern the basic shapes.

That was enough to launch himself at the larger monster where he quickly learned that he was nonetheless heavier than his opponent, who was soft and squishy. There was a layer of something slimy and slippery on the big monster, but claws pretty much ignored that in order to tear through slime and blubbery flesh in one go.

Second discovery: the monster in question could scream from a whole buncha those mouths.

* * *

><p>Sasuke saw the whole thing. His first indication of the party going downhill was when Naruto put down the plate of food he'd been gathering. That had led him to try and figure out what had given Naruto some indication of a problem.<p>

Sasuke tended to be visually oriented, for obvious reasons, but he hadn't neglected other senses as being useless. The scent from the sea had changed, carrying with it a faint trace of - window washing fluid?

The lights abruptly cutting out was obviously a jutsu. Sasuke drew the jutsu-cutting sword from the improvised scabbard in the darkness and then settled into stillness as he listened.

There was the occasional scream, call for help, or sound of someone running into a stationary object from the party-goers who were now panicking.

There was also, the very loud due to proximity, sound of a large dragon launching itself at something. The slightly more distant following sound was of a large dragon smashing into something big. Followed by a very inhuman sounding scream that resembled something that might get played from a pipe organ.

The dim light from stars and distant buildings was beginning to resolve the darkness into some shapes, and now he could make out that the attacking monster was some sort of tentacle creature that was attempting to deal with the dragon currently slashing and tearing at its body.

Since Naruto obviously had a handle on the big monster, in more than one meaning of the term, Sasuke turned his attention to trying to locate the monster's master.

It was while running across the beach that he managed to cut himself with the sword when his foot sank into a soft spot in the sand, but Sasuke didn't make a noise about it. For one thing, the dobe-dragon would certainly use it verbally against him.

Judging from the sound of the voice that had called out, the monster's human master was middle-aged and male. If he had to judge based on the raspiness of the voice - a heavy smoker as well.

"Wha-gh!" A splash. "You have your own monster?"

Sasuke adjusted his course slightly. Sounded like the monster's master was right over - there!

A spread of kunai was thrown, and Sasuke charged right behind them.

* * *

><p>The runes covered three of the walls in the room, plus the ceiling.<p>

"Hmph," said Keri.

"This room dates to the appearance of the first Dragon God," said Yae. "I've translated it over the decades, if you want to see-"

Keri made a gesture. The stone runes blurred and reformed on one wall.

"-okay, that's just annoying." Yae said drily. "The whole thing doesn't do that, does it?"

"Afraid so," said Keri. "Consider each of these walls a book, with the first page the one that was previously displayed. Just a moment."

Yae stood back as Naruto's "aunt" went to the center of the room and took a wide-legged stance.

Keri flipped her red hair back, then folded her arms in front of her before speaking. "I am Keristrasza, servant of Alexstrasza the Life-Binder, aspect of the Red Dragonflight - reborn in this world but not of this world. I request access."

Some of the runes on the wall shifted.

"Thank you," said Keri. "Request language be shifted to current version of human language, local dialect."

Yae blinked as a glow as of flame shifted in the stone engravings and they shifted again. "I... can read the fiery letters."

"Good," said Keri. "This is similar to some of the Titan-built magical devices I've seen elsewhere. There's a few things more that I want to check."

* * *

><p>The three Cape Maidens stood back to back in the darkness, listening to the sounds.<p>

"Another Jashinite?" asked Karin Nagumo.

"Sounds like it," agreed Soyogi.

Shizuku remained silent, trying to make out what was going on in the darkness.

"That sounds like the Dragon God ripping into a sea monster," said Karin, a little louder than necessary.

"I thought we were keeping that quiet," whispered Soyogi.

"If someone gets the fire going again, there's going to be an oomphing big dragon visible," whispered back Karin.

"Ah," said Soyogi, seeing the point.

At which point a burst of flame from a dragon's mouth started catching the sea monster on fire.

"Or something like that could happen," said Shizuku, her mouth twitching into a slight smile.

"Oh, it IS a dragon," said one of the beauty contestants now that there was light enough to see.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" said another one, using the light from the burning monster to find her way.

The dragon helpfully sent a small fireball to the campfire, which blew it up into a small crater but as the area was now on fire pretty much served the same purpose. Unfortunately the tentacle beast then had an opportunity to wrap the dragon in tentacles.

"AH! It's a tentacle beast!" said one of the girls hiding behind a lifeguard stand. "You know what they do to nubile young girls."

"Go get him, dragon-san!" yelled a girl partially hidden behind a barrel.

"We should show our support for the Dragon God as well," said Shizuku.

"Right!" said Karin, pulling a little dragon-pennant out of one sleeve and waving it around.

"You really are prepared," noted Soyogi.

* * *

><p>"Well, I have to say I'm put out about that," said Yae. "All those years deciphering it."<p>

"Why?" asked Keri.

"You're really not human, are you?" asked Yae.

"Well, no," agreed Keri.

"So many years wasted," said Yae, reaching for her tea.

"Why were they wasted?" asked Keri, sounding puzzled. "You learned things that have assisted you over the years, have you not? Now you have access to the remainder of the lore. If you had not done that work, would we even be here now?"

"Perhaps," answered Yae after some thought.

"Oh, shards and shells," said Keri abruptly. "What has he done NOW?"

* * *

><p>The sight of an obvious tentacle monster would have sent the various girls screaming and running in a direction taking them away from said monster. Except for two things.<p>

First was that there was a dragon present who was smaller than the tentacle monster - but who was shredding the larger monster.

Second was that a LOT of the contestants had gone into apparent trances when the lights had gone out.

Kakashi Hatake, on the other hand, had his Sharingan going and had noticed that the MONSTER had thrown those out. So while Sasuke was attacking the apparent-summoner, Kakashi had figured out who was the actual menace.

However, despite his use of the 'thousand years of death' jutsu, he really wasn't fond of things being shoved up his butt. Which COULD happen if he closed to fight the tentacle monster. Yes, it was best to let Naruto get the experience of close-fighting something fairly close to his weight-class.

Kakashi was merely supervising his genin after all, and occasionally using a jutsu to cut off the occasional tentacle that looked to be coming towards anyone not possessed of thick armored skin.

Oh that was interesting. He'd picked up the genjutsu that the thing had thrown out to ensnare the women on the beach, though it had only seemed to affect half of them. He'd observed the fire-quench jutsu. It didn't seem as effective on dragonfire though. It was now trying to slam some sort of genjutsu on Naruto?

Well, just in case.

"**Wha- That- YOU SICK PERVERT!**"

Oh. Look at that. Whatever the genjutsu had been, Naruto's reaction was clearly NOT what the tentacle-beast had intended. Not unless the monster had actively been trying to push some sort of Berserk Button.

Kakashi considered that for a moment, eventually deciding he really would have to find out just so he could avoid that sort of thing coming up again.

"Ninja-san? What happened?" asked one of the Shrine Maidens, having gotten close enough.

Seeing a few girls nearby trying to listen in and looking decidedly discomfited by the nearby savagery, Kakashi decided he could defuse that and actually use the event to generate some good will towards the Leaf. And knowing Naruto and this situation, this might actually be true. "The tentacle beast tried a mind-controlling jutsu on the dragon to get him to stand aside so it could ravage you. The dragon is... not happy with that idea."

Girls that had been covering their eyes a moment ago uncovered them and looked at where the dragon was now giving an unmerciful beatdown on the tentacle-monster.

"Go get him, dragon-san!" yelled one of the beauty contestants.

Karin started passing out dragon pennants.

"Where did you get those?" asked Soyogi, staring at the other maiden.

"Festival next month," said Karin as she passed out another. "Grandmother wanted me to work on them as something for the kids to have."

"Oh," said Soyogi, thinking about that. "Got any more?"

Karin finished passing them out, then whooped as the big monster finally stopped moving.

At which point a loud crack was heard off to the side.

* * *

><p>"AHH!" screamed the summoner, dodging kunai. "You're supposed to go after the monster and let me escape!"<p>

Sasuke considered saying that he was a ninja and deviating from the script was a ninja thing. Then he thought he was hanging around Naruto too much.

Sasuke had to admit though, the summoner was good at dodging. Especially while in panic mode.

The summoner leapt away and lifted up a round object in both hands. "That's it! I'll summon the most fearsome monster in all of Hell to kill you!"

Sasuke saw the pose, heard the speech, and drew his new sword. Leaping up to where the summoner was, he brought the sword down in an overhand slash that was sure to get the summoner to dodge and drop his technique.

There was a sudden jarring silence as the fight between dragon and monster stopped, broken only by the sound of the sword slicing through mirror and then the summoner.

"Oh," said the summoner. "I thought that was a feint."

"Not quite," said Sasuke, holding the pose.

"Oh," said the summoner before falling over in a spray of blood.

There was a loud crack and the two halves of the mirror landed on the ground.

"Uhm," said Sasuke, looking down at the split-in-two mirror.

_Crack!_ went his sword.

* * *

><p>"Well it worked out anyway," said Kakashi the next morning.<p>

"How did it work out?" asked Naruto.

"One mirror-half can go to the mermaid, one half can go to the shrine," said Kakashi. "Nobody's completely happy but nobody's completely unhappy."

"I wouldn't think that half of a magic mirror would make anyone happy," offered Naruto.

"You think anyone can fix this?" asked Sasuke, looking at the two pieces of his jutsu-cutting sword.

"No, the metal was probably stressed when someone used it to block a dumpster that someone else threw at him," said Kakashi. "It'll need to be reforged."

Sasuke brooded some over this. This was in addition to his normal degree of brooding.

"Ah well, the first contest is tonight," said Kakashi. "Are you ready to judge the contestants tonight, Sasuke?"

Sasuke turned up the brooding another couple of notches.

* * *

><p>"So, this is your team, eh, Kakashi?"<p>

"Jiraiya. Yes, this is Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and the girl... actually if you could check her out some that might be a good thing," said Kakashi.

The three genin (or two and a stabilized permanent shadow clone) glanced at the older male and then at their sensei.

"He's not a perv is he?" asked Naruko as she was scrutinized by the old man in the kabuki get-up. Feeling as if he was staring through her clothing.

"No, I'm not a perv," said the older man, walking around the girl and looking her over speculatively.

"Oh that's good," said Naruko.

"I'm a SUPER pervert," said Jiraiya.

"Thank you for that clarification," said Naruko, "it just helps SO much. Naruko PUNCH!"

Jiraiya leaned out of the way, then grabbed her extended arm just under the wrist. "This is VERY curious."

Naruko settled for trying to kick the sannin repeatedly. "What is?"

"I thought she was a transformed shadow clone, but she's not that at all is she?" asked Jiraiya.

"That's what she started out as," said Naruto, wondering if he should come to Naruko's defense or not. On the one hand, he'd be defending a girl from a self-proclaimed super-pervert. On the other hand, Kakashi and the guy in question might actually be doing something not-perverted.

Naruko tried to bring her glaive into play, but was hampered by one arm being held up and the target was inside her effective range with that weapon.

"So that's not what she is anymore?" prompted Jiraiya.

"She's apparently permanent and independent," said Kakashi.

"Leggo!" said Naruko, managing to connect the haft of her weapon to the sannin's skull.

"You were snared by the tentacle monster's jutsu," said Kakashi. "Jiraiya can determine if there are long lasting effects."

Jiraiya tapped the girl in the forehead, causing her to slump into unconsciousness.

"Did you happen to see the jutsu being used?" asked Jiraiya as he lay the kunoichi out on the ground.

"Yes, it was very strange," admitted Kakashi. "It apparently affected the real kunoichi as well. I'm not sure why it affected some and not others, but then again I'm not sure what it really does."

"Can you perform this jutsu?" asked Jiraiya, his professional curiosity coming to the fore. Perviness was one thing, new jutsu entirely other.

"I think, that with hand-seals, it would be..." Kakashi went through a series and released it. The sleeping Naruko stirred and groaned.

Jiraiya's perviness and professional curiosity both agreed on what he was seeing. "That... that makes this whole trip even more worth it."

"Why? What is it?" asked Kakashi.

"Not with the kids around, I'll tell you later," said Jiraiya.

Sasuke frowned, thinking this was very troublesome.

Naruto frowned, thinking this sounded ominous.

Later on, they would each feel quite vindicated.

* * *

><p>Yae Nagumo watched from the hilltop, what was called the Cape of the island. She'd waited her whole life for this in some ways, as she had been a Cape Maiden many decades ago herself.<p>

A distant speck shimmered and expanded until it went from 'speck' to 'filling the entire field of view' in an instant. If she had blinked, Yae knew she would have missed it.

The dragon lifted itself into the air with grace that was completely at odds with the amount of mass involved, and hovered halfway over the island. Yae couldn't see the whole island from this viewpoint, but she suspected that it was all in shadow. Then the dragon was moving, slowly at first but rapidly picking up speed as it went.

Yae continued to watch after the dragon had become a speck in the distance and then gone entirely.

How many generations of Maidens and then priestesses had gone by before seeing such a thing? Yae herself had little idea other than a lot. It was, however, something that was entirely understandable as to why the shrine had lasted this long. Something like that tended to leave an impression.

It was just as well that the dragons themselves were way off in Konoha though. The island largely supported itself through fishing, and the presence of such large predators would likely cause the waters around their island to become barren.

Though now she had to get busy. There were many plans to be made, and strategies to devise.

* * *

><p>"...and so we begin with our judges for this Junior division of the Miss Fortune Beach competition," said the announcer. "Hailing from scenic Okitsushima, a recent transplant from the Fire Country capitol - Tamae Kisaragi-sensei."<p>

"Yeah!" said the very young-looking girl.

"Kisaragi is a teacher at the single school at Okitsushima, who has all three of the Cape Maidens in her class," said the announcer. "She's not as loli as she looks."

"HEY!" said the loli-looking teacher.

"Next up, from Konohagakure, Sasuke Uchiha of the Uchiha clan," said the announcer.

"Hn," indicated Sasuke, leaning back in his chair slightly.

"KYAAAA!" went a bunch of girls, causing a chill to run up Sasuke's back and for him to confirm routes of escape.

"It's said that his eyes miss no small detail, and that he's 'Rookie of the Year' of his ninja class," continued the announcer. "And last-"

"But definitely least," interrupted Kisaragi.

"That's mean, Tama-chan," protested the third judge.

"Keiko Satomi, the actress," said the announcer.

"Thank you," said Keiko.

"We'll begin with Sakura Haruno," said the announcer.

"AGH!" yelped Keiko and Tamae as they ducked and hid.

"-who is NOT related to THOSE Haruno," continued the announcer smoothly.

Sakura strode out in her swimsuit, taking a couple of quick poses.

[4] rated Tamae.  
>[3] rated Sasuke.<br>[5] rated Keiko.

"WHAT?" squeaked Sakura before settling into a gloom of her own devising and walking to the off-stage where she could watch the others. _After all, Sasuke is just voting that way to keep my cover. Right? Right!_

"Next is Fuu. Fuu? You can come out on stage now."

The girl stuck her head out from behind the curtain, looked at the audience, then at the announcer and frantically shook her head.

"Go for it, Fuu-chan!" yelled someone in the audience. "You can do it!"

With a glance at the odd blonde cheering for her, the girl took a few steps out on to the stage though with clear reservations.

[6] rated Tamae.  
>[5] rated Sasuke.<br>[8] rated Keiko.

"WHAT?" yelled Sakura from the sidelines.

"Eh, probably she's getting 'moe' points for the embarassment factor," said Kakashi from where he was leaning against the wall near Sakura.

"Working security?" asked Sakura, apparently addressing the air to her left.

"Naruto is on the roof. Also in the audience, behind the stage, covering two nearby roofs, and in the press area. Naruko is backstage."

"Naruko?" asked Sakura.

"Hmmm, that's right - you don't know yet. Well, you'll know soon enough." Kakashi glanced up from his reading material to see the next contestant come up.

"The danger's gone, so why are we still here anyway? Shouldn't we just pull out?" asked Sakura.

"Meh, I've still got the extra bonus task tomorrow night with the adult judging," said Kakashi. "Now stop talking to yourself, it's not in keeping with your cover."

* * *

><p>While stretching out in her full size was appreciated, Keri understood the effect of that on various people and animals. Which was usually panic and running.<p>

Fortunately she could shapeshift easily enough, and did so after reaching the area near Konoha. From there she could reach the village under human guise without causing the whole mass-panic thing.

She had a few things to do and to prepare, and she could tell that Naruto was back in human-form as well. Hopefully everything was settled at Fortune Beach and they'd all be returning shortly.

In the meantime, she had one of the other teams of genin scheduled to do work around the place.

* * *

><p>"Oh, so the dragon is a summons?" asked Yui.<p>

"Yeah, cause dragons are awesome, ninjas are awesome, so naturally they belong together," answered Naruto. "Dattebayo!"

"We'd like to get the band to pose around your dragon sometime for an album cover," said Sawako Yamanaka, apparently the band manager.

"Possible," admitted Kakashi, closing his book. "You'd have to hire Team 7 for security or something though, as 'pose for album cover photo' is not normally a ninja mission. Contact Konohagakure's Mission Department if you like."

"Considering we're not a really big name band, the pricing for that might be a little outside our budget," admitted Sawako. "Maybe sometime though."

Sasuke remained silent until the four-girl-band and their manager had walked away. "How many is that?"

"Three birthday parties, two 'small item' transport jobs, four bodyguard requests, album cover art, and three ship-based guard positions," said Kakashi. "I don't expect half of them to follow through though. Mission fees are pretty steep for normal people to be able to afford."

"So we meet Sakura outside of town and then fly back to Konoha?" asked Naruto.

"Yes, that's the plan," agreed Kakashi. "You didn't forget already, did you?"

"No," indicated Naruto. "I just get the feeling we forgot something."

"We dropped half of the mirror off with your mermaid," said Sasuke. "The other half is going with one of those shrine maidens to their temple."

"No, it wasn't that," admitted Naruto.

"HA! I HAVE FOUND YOU! VENGEANCE SHALL BE MINE AND YOU SHALL BEG FOR DEATH BEFORE I -"

Sasuke idly threw a kunai with an explosive tag, burying it in the attacker's chest. He waited for the explosion to be over, thinking things over carefully while the echoes rolled through the streets. "Nope. Can't think of anything."

Kakashi stared at the smoking crater, smouldering sword-wielding attacker, then shrugged. Maybe it had just been a relative of that guy. He was pretty sure that he had killed that guy after Naruto had flattened him under a thrown dumpster.

After nearly an hour had passed, Naruto brought his head up. "Hey. Did anyone remember to tell Sakura where we were meeting?"

"Ah," said Kakashi. "Is that what I was forgetting?"


	7. Chapter 7: Back Again

**Spiral Dragon**

by Greylle

DISCLAIMER: Original series belong to someone else.  
>NOTE: The following is just an idea that came to me and started developing. Not sure how long i'll keep going on it. It's already gone quite a bit further than intended and seems to want to write itself. As stated elsewhere, the Umi No Misaki portion is done with this chapter, though the plan is for at least one of the shrine maidens to make it to Konoha for the Chunin Exams.<p>

Spiral Dragon, part seven: Back Again

* * *

><p>Sakura glanced at the three shrine maidens. "Uhm."<p>

"We need to say goodbye to the Dragon-god," said Karin to the unspoken question.

Sakura fidgeted and shifted her backpack, back in the field that Naruto's dragon-summons had landed in when they'd arrived.

"You're sure they're going to show up here?" asked Soyogi finally.

"Where else would we meet up?" asked Sakura, not unreasonably.

"Ah," said Soyogi.

Sakura fidgeted for awhile before asking. "You do realize that the 'dragon-god' is just a summons, right?"

Three shrine maidens looked at Sakura.

"What?" asked Sakura.

"Not our place to say," said Soyogi after an uncomfortable silence and the three priestesses exchanging looks.

Sakura fidgeted as she looked over the three in their red-and-white shrine maiden uniforms.

"Ah," said Shizuku as she looked up at the sound of air being compressed in a rhythmic fashion.

The dragon slowly, and quite carefully, landed after circling the site twice.

Sakura noticed the shrine maidens very little after that. She finally could drop the act about just being a normal farmgirl and wear her normal outfit again.

At least nobody figured out she was a ninja, they had all been too busy mistaking her for one of those OTHER Haruno women.

* * *

><p>"So that's it," noted Kakashi as he finished making the adjustments to the rope mesh that provided a way to fly dragonback.<p>

"What's it?" asked Sasuke, occasionally glancing towards the head of the dragon where the three shrine maidens were bidding Naruto goodbye.

"He's grown at least a foot, maybe three," said Kakashi.

Sasuke nodded. Not that he thought there was much difference between a 53 foot-long dragon and a 56 foot-long dragon.

"I think Sakura wants to talk to you," said Kakashi.

"Yes, and?" asked Sasuke.

"She's also staring at Naruko a lot," noted Kakashi.

"Your point?" asked Sasuke.

"She came in fifth place in the Junior division," said Kakashi. "She could probably use an encouraging word."

"That's more Naruto's thing than mine," said Sasuke. After thinking for a few minutes, he nodded. "Let her have a few days away from it, then I'll ask her about the infiltration mission from that point of view."

"Uh oh," said Kakashi as Sakura walked up to Naruko, said something, and then did something violent.

* * *

><p>Sakura finally decided to just go ahead and ask. "Naruto? Why are you dressed like THAT? And why are you still using that stupid jutsu?"<p>

"Uhm, Sakura-chan," said Naruko. "This isn't what you think."

Sakura had learned her lesson, so she simply took the ring end of a kunai and slammed it down on Naruto's head. That would dispel the henge and avoid hurting her hand the way hitting him with her fist would do.

Except it didn't quite go as expected. Instead, she was treated to the sight of Naruto dropping to the ground with blood oozing out of a head wound. Without the henge dropping.

At which point Kakashi sensei was there, getting between them and examining the wound.

"W-what?" asked Sakura. "What happened? Why didn't the disguise dispel?"

"Because this isn't Naruto," said Kakashi, using a spray antiseptic and then covering the wound with a bandage. "She's sort of his sister."

At which point Sakura's shock was joined by a heaping of guilt and panic.

"Fortunately, we can strap her into place for the trip," said Kakashi, picking up the unconscious Naruko.

Sakura became quite aware of the three shrine maidens, Sasuke, and even the DRAGON all staring at her.

* * *

><p>"Why the heck did she do that?" asked Naruto.<p>

"Perhaps she feels bad about her placing in the competition?" asked Karin.

"What did she place, anyway?" asked Naruto. "I remember that Fuu girl got first."

"I didn't expect to see someone do dagger juggling in the Talent portion," said Karin. "She was quite impressive."

"It may have been that the judges didn't want to give her a low vote after observing her accuracy and skill with those weapons," noted Soyogi. "As for Sakura, she came in fifth place."

Naruto, still in dragonform, made a thoughtful rumble before deciding he'd just have to put that aside for now.

"Everyone ready?" asked Kakashi, using some jutsu to make himself heard by everyone.

Naruto gave his wings a couple of experimental stretches and found it wasn't as tight as it had been. "Okay, let's go!"

"Very well, dragon-god," said Shizuku, bowing and followed by the other two. "When we've heard you've made chunin, we will visit your village."

"Chunin, huh?" rumbled Naruto.

"There is a test for genin to be promoted to chunin, perhaps we can visit at that time?" suggested Soyogi.

"Heh," said Naruto, flashing a smile that was composed of very sharp teeth. "Yeah, you can come see me being awesome then."

"Your female team-mate, Sakura, doesn't know about you being a dragon," noted Karin. "Isn't that kind of awkward?"

"It's all supposed to be secret, so I dunno," admitted Naruto. "Meh. She's real smart, so she'll figure it out in no time."

* * *

><p>Sakura clicked her caribiner onto the tether. "Ready."<p>

"That's everyone then," said Kakashi, settling down into place and bringing his hand down to slap twice on the dragon's back.

The dragon grunted and lifted off, springing into the air and quickly gaining altitude. Once above treetop level, he circled the clearing again and then began climbing in earnest as he shifted course for Konohagakure.

At which point Sakura felt she could finally relax.

It was possible for someone to attack them, but very unlikely. This being because the ground was way way way down there and they were going really fast.

Sakura found her attention going towards the distant figure of Naruko. Now with a bandage on her head. Now that she knew to look for details, she was seeing a lot of details that were "off" from Naruto's Centerfold Jutsu. Not just that clothing was being worn, but HOW it was being worn. The lack of whiskers. The way the ninja tools had been stowed to allow for the different reach.

She was still looking pretty woozy too, but had been secured into place.

Still no sign of Naruto, but nobody seemed concerned at all. Had something happened?

Sasuke looked as if the sun had tanned him a bit. And why did he have two swords now? One was wrapped up and stowed away near him, the other was something he was holding onto. Not that Sasuke couldn't use swords - it just wasn't something that she was used to seeing from him.

Kakashi-sensei wasn't doing anything different at all. Reading, relaxing, and looking as unfazed as ever.

It felt odd though. As if Naruto was around somewhere. Maybe Kakashi-sensei had taught him a stealth jutsu and he was working on it? No, that would just be creepy with him maybe sneaking up on her.

Well, whatever, this riding on a dragon's back and seeing the world from 10,000 feet was something she could now appreciate. They were going home, successful in their first C-Rank mission!

Things were looking up.

* * *

><p>Fuu wasn't at all sure what to make of this. She tended to be a bit upbeat, when she could get away with it. She also despised humanity and her village in particular for treating her like it had over the years.<p>

She had been successful in her mission, observing things quietly from the sides, meeting Jiraiya of Konohagakure as the winner of the Junior Division of the Miss Beach contest.

Fuu glanced at the pouch hanging from the side of her pack that contained a little statue. A trophy. A serious kunoichi should sell it, to be able to convert that into something useful. She was pretty sure that all her teachers would agree on that at least, that she as a kunoichi and jinchuriki was a weapon and nothing more.

Yet there was still something comforting in that little object. In the knowledge that despite all of the other contestants, SHE had won. She wasn't sure on the scoring, but her ability to juggle knives and throw them with pretty good accuracy had been one of the high scoring points. Her singing, which to her had never been very good, had also gotten a good rating.

No, Fuu decided, she wasn't sure at all what to make of the little trophy. Maybe she should just hang onto it until she'd figured it all out.

* * *

><p>The dragon landed a little less clumsily than before, only knocking over one tree and cratering the ground slightly.<p>

"Well, dragon-san, you'd best get back to your home," said Kakashi as he leapt to the ground with the still-woozy Naruko. "We'll meet up with Naruto in the village."

"Right," rumbled the dragon, giving Sakura an uncertain look. "Yeah. See you later then."

"Weird," said Sakura as the dragon left them.

"No doubt about that part," said Kakashi, sounding tired. "Well, come on. We have to give the mission office our report."

"Hnn," said Sasuke.

"You may have to give up those swords you know," said Kakashi, starting off the run to the village itself by leaping into the lower branches of a tree.

"Spoils of war," said Sasuke, following Kakashi effortlessly. "Though I've been wondering. Didn't that guy die once already?"

"Maybe it was a twin brother, that sort of thing isn't unknown," said Kakashi, not pausing.

"As long as they keep bringing magic swords," said Sasuke, hefting the new one in the middle of a leap. "And as long as SOMEONE doesn't throw large heavy objects on them."

"Magic swords?" asked Sakura, keeping up the pace with a bit more difficulty than the other two. "Just what happened while I was off infiltrating?"

"Meh, this and that," said Kakashi.

"Sometimes that 'mysterious sensei' thing gets really old, Kakashi-sensei," protested Sakura.

"Hnn," agreed Sasuke.

"How do you know this is a magic sword?" asked Sakura.

In response, Sasuke partially pulled the sword partway from its scabbard. A shimmering blue glow played along the metal as Sasuke went from light to shadow in his progress along the trees.

"Oh," said Sakura. "So what does it do?"

"No idea," said Sasuke. "Yet."

"Hmmm, thunder," said Kakashi. "We'd better get indoors."

* * *

><p>"Well, it should make for an interesting report, even if it's all classified above my pay grade," said Iruka. "As long as the clients signed off on it though - I can authorize payment."<p>

"There's this as well," said Kakashi, handing over another scroll. "These are individuals who may be contacting the office regarding hiring our team in the future."

"That's always good to see," admitted Iruka.

"Naruto's summons came in very handy," added Kakashi.

"He has a summons?" asked Iruka.

"Ah, that's probably classified, though how long something like that can be secret," mused Kakashi aloud.

"Wait, the rumors about a dragon-summons? That's Naruto? No, it couldn't be," said Iruka, getting excited for a student and then realizing it was just wishful thinking on his part. Of course he wanted his students to do well, but that would have been too much to hope for.

"Ah, of course not," said Kakashi with a nod.

"Since this was a complicated mission, and you were performing infiltration, we'll need a mission report from you too, Sakura," said Iruka, handing her a scroll marked "1044-I" with a sticker.

Sakura tried not to grin and act serious about this (failing both) as she took the scroll. She was filling out mission reports now? She was leaving Ino behind in the dust!

"Turn the mission reports in when you report for your next mission tomorrow," suggested Iruka. "Next team."

Kakashi led the others off as the next team in line turned in their own mission scroll. "Well, that's it. Tomorrow, the usual place. Oh-eight-hundred. Got it?"

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei," said Sakura, already unrolling the scroll so she could see exactly what information she'd need to fill out.

* * *

><p>The Hokage looked over the group assembled before him. Had Naruto grown slightly? His clothes looked a little small on him. When had Sasuke Uchiha started carrying a sword? Well, at least the other two hadn't changed. Stability was a good if rare quality in the ninja world. "You were going to be getting back to D-Rank missions today, but a situation has come up where your unique talents can be of use."<p>

"Oh dear," said Kakashi Hatake, correctly interpreting that as trouble.

"One of our experienced genin teams went to Wave Country on a bodyguard mission," said the Hokage, nodding at Kakashi to confirm his instincts were right.

"Which team?" asked Kakashi.

"Ichimaru Kawariyaku's team," said the Hokage.

"Hmmm," hmmmed Kakashi, indicating something about shoulder-height to him. "This tall? Has a summoning contract involving bats? Owes Mitarashi thirty bottles of sake, his apartment if he ever cleaned it, and a month's worth of dango? The only gambler in the Elemental Nations to give Tsunade competition for Biggest Loser?"

"That's the one," admitted the Hokage. "He's dead."

"And his team is stranded in Wave, with the killers of their sensei hanging around to finish the job?" asked Kakashi. The scenario wasn't unfamiliar.

"Which is why speed is of the essence," said the Hokage. "The bat arrived in the early morning with the message before dismissing itself."

"Ah, but why Team 7?" asked Kakashi.

"You. And your team has some of the fastest transport available to it in the village," pointed out the Hokage.

"But still, if the killers managed to bring down a jonin," pointed out Kakashi.

"Kawariyaku was a jonin, true," agreed the Hokage. "However he was not nearly as experienced or proficient as you are. Also, he was going into the situation blind - whereas you already know about the danger."

"As you say, but I would be remiss in my duties as a sensei if I put a genin team in that situation," protested Kakashi.

"A genin team which has already faced giant monsters in combat?" asked the Hokage, a touch of sarcasm present. "Besides. I'm not sending you alone."

"Oh?" asked Kakashi.

* * *

><p>Ichimaru Kawariyaku had been their jonin-sensei, and frankly he'd had more than a few bad points.<p>

Oh, he'd taught them over the years. They could do all the ninja basics, had a team specialty using Iron Cloth technique in fact, and were reasonably good at a variety of things.

However, Team Kawariyaku was already in their early twenties and was one of the older teams to be taking the Chunin Exams. When your competition included twelve year olds, that was a little embarassing.

They were sometimes called 'Team Moldy Grain' because of their names and that they'd been in a few too many exams by others who really weren't that much better themselves.

No, Komugi decided honestly - they couldn't blame the teacher too much for not being a particularly outstanding jonin. He'd barely made the rank and it had only been his summoning contract with bats that had been something to make him noticeable at all. He'd heard stories about how the old guy had been a lot better when he was younger, but nothing to back up those stories. None of them though were all that spectacular to begin with. Gennai was their genjutsu specialist, he was their taijutsu specialist, and Inaho their ninjutsu (earth) specialist.

None of them had been ready for this mission despite their age and years in the field. They'd done plenty of C-Rank missions, even a few B-Ranks, but nothing like this had ever gone as wrong as it had.

A bat fluttered down to the house and cleared its throat.

Because it was a bat wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap, this was less an indication of the neighborhood's disrepair than might otherwise have been the case.

"Oh," said Komugi. "You're one of sensei's..."

"Yeah, one last task for the old guy," said the bat with a nod. "The call for aid was the last thing Ichi gave out, and Konoha's sending backup."

Inaho stirred from where she'd been sleeping nearby. "ANBU?"

"No, some genin team," said the bat. "Team 7."

"Ah," said Gennai. "That's Kakashi Hatake's team. They're just out of the Academy."

"Hatake took a team?" asked Komugi. "I thought he always failed his teams."

"That was what made it noteworthy," said Gennai.

"Whatever," grumped Inaho. "Just another gennin team sent to back us up? Old man Sarutobi's getting senile or something."

* * *

><p>Neji Hyuga was many things. Prideful and arrogant, true. Competent was also true. Many hailed him as not only being skilled but actually a genius or elite.<p>

Walking into the appointed clearing to see that their transportation was something he'd NOT expected only caused him to stare for a few moments. Then he activated his Byakugan to examine in greater detail and determine if this was some genjutsu.

It was not. It was at least fifty-six feet in length, naturally armored, a flying pseudo-reptile with a chakra network that looked like it would take explosive tags to disrupt. It regarded him for a moment, cocking its head in a way that suggested curiosity, but otherwise remained docile. Which was very good actually as something with teeth and claws worthy of being called swords was best viewed in a calm state.

"Oh. My. Sweet. Kami."

He didn't have to look at Tenten to see that their team kunoichi had come to a complete halt and was openly staring.

"Gai-sensei!" said the team's last member. "The team of your rival has a dragon?"

"Yes, Lee," said Gai-sensei. "Summons are among the most versatile tools that a ninja can possess. Unfortunately it is a form of ninjutsu that requires extensive amounts of chakra."

"Thisissocool. canwegetone. ohmyfreakingsweetkami. canwegoforaridenow?" asked Tenten as she blurred in at high speeds and HUGGED one of the heavily muscled forelegs of the beast.

Said beast curled his neck to get a better look at the kunoichi wrapping herself around a foreleg and then glanced at the remainder of the group. Its body language seemed to indicate puzzlement.

"I am unused to seeing Tenten react to anything like that," confessed Lee, speaking to the dragon.

"It is just a dumb beast, Lee," began Neji.

"That's where you are wrong, Neji," said Gai quietly. "One of the things about summoned animals is that they are capable of understanding human speech."

"True," said one of the genin nearby, a black-haired youth who'd been leaning against a tree and quietly observing them. "Sometimes the trick is getting him to shut up."

"Iwantone. Isoverywantoneofmyveryown. andIwillnamehim TerrorFromTheSkies. and-" continued Tenten.

"She's usually not this bad," commented Gai. "Except with weapons."

"Perhaps she sees him as a weapon?" asked Lee. After all, teeth and claws and thick armor and powerful-looking.

"That's probably it," admitted Gai.

"Wait till she finds out he can spit explosive fire," said Sasuke.

"He can?" asked Tenten, causing Sasuke to get very startled as she'd moved VERY fast to get in front of him. And... was she sparkling?

"Yes, but I'm afraid the dragon summoning contract is bloodline dependent," said Kakashi, dropping out of the trees. "Or a hijutsu. Clan thing. You'd have to marry into the family to have a chance at all."

The large dragon shivered as if it felt some chill come out of nowhere.

Sasuke looked askance at Kakashi. Kakashi cocked an eyebrow in response.

"There are harnesses over there," said Kakashi. "The clips tether your harness to the dragon's harness. Use those to hold onto in flight."

"The dragon is capable of carrying all of us?" asked Lee.

Kakashi shrugged. "Most likely."

"'Most likely'?" asked Neji, experiencing a moment of doubt.

"We'll go over more details when we get to the destination," said Kakashi. "The Hokage did say that speed was a factor."

* * *

><p>"You'll want to hang on," said the pink-haired young genin nearby with the air of one who has done this many times.<p>

Tenten had her doubts about that somehow, but followed the other's example of setting one rope directly before one heel and grabbing with both hands onto other ropes.

"Hmph," said Neji dismissively, apparently getting similar advice from the blond genin.

"Who's that? One of your team?" asked Tenten as the dragon underneath them began lumbering around the clearing. "Sakura, right?"

"Hm? Yeah. Sakura Haruno. Oh, that's Naruto over there," said Sakura. "Yeah, he used to be the Academy dead last but he's gotten better since his bloodline activated. He's the summoner for the dragon."

"Oh?" asked Tenten, looking over the boy with the wide smile as he climbed a little away from Neji before clicking his own tether into place. "He's got a bloodline like the Hyuga?"

"Not exactly," said Sakura, who had planned on saying more but noticed that they were moving down a bit now. "Get ready, when the dragon finishes crouching he's going to-"

There was a crushing force against her, reminding her of the time that Rock Lee had been caught in a spin manuever by Neji during practice - and had been tossed right into her.

"It's okay now," said the pinkette's voice.

Tenten opened her eyes, having closed them when the wind had picked up.

There was noise from the wings forcing their way through the air, there was noise from Neji dangling at the end of his tether, there was a whoop from Rock Lee, and there was the sound of the wind rushing past them.

Tenten leaned out as far as she could while keeping a grip on one rope and saw that the forest was way down there and getting further away, and that they were also moving very quickly.

Sakura was moving a little closer so she didn't have to yell as loudly. "I think he's going to get the dragon to move to a higher altitude so we can go faster."

"Is that a bow?" asked Tenten, her eyes catching sight of the weapon on the stack of supplies that had been tied into place.

Sakura nodded at her. "Kakashi-sensei thought that with the harness, we could get ninja up here to fire weapons from altitude. I think."

Tenten immediately grasped the idea. With the height advantage this gave, a clear line-of-sight would be available. Plus you'd have gravity helping add force to your attacks, while a ground-based attacker trying to respond would be at a significant disadvantage due to the same gravity.

"Yeah, he's not as awesome as my Sasuke," said Sakura, trying to hint that Tenten should not attempt to try for Sasuke without actually coming out and saying it, "but he's better than he used to be. I don't know, maybe that shrine priestess aunt of his managed to convince him to get serious."

Tenten blinked. "Did you say 'shrine priestess'?"

"Yeah," admitted Sakura.

"Ah," said Tenten. "Hiryu shrine?"

"Yeah, that was..." Sakura paused as the flight levelled out and the wings stopped beating for a moment as they glided. "Okay, if he's doing that, he's done that before when he's-"

The wings started beating again and Tenten tightened her grip again on the ropes as they accelerated.

At which point the wind of their passage made conversation a lot more difficult.

* * *

><p>Neji didn't like this.<p>

He'd been dismissive of the little blond idiot who'd told him how the others used the handholds provided by crisscrossing ropes to brace themselves, switching hands during the trip when one tired, and to keep the tether clicked into place.

He'd initially counted on the tree-climbing technique to keep himself anchored, but that had proven... inadequate to the jolts of acceleration.

Bouncing around at the end of his tether had not done anything positive for his mood.

He'd regained his position and settled into sulking, seeing only the smirk of that black haired boy on Team 7 as indication that his mistake had gone noticed.

Once he was back in place, Neji used his Byakugan in brief flashes to ascertain how high up and how fast they were. The results had him pursing his lips and reconsidering things.

He'd been pretty dismissive of a freshly graduated (by perhaps four weeks if that) genin team being used for such a dangerous mission.

The speed and altitude of their transport moved the whole thing from "reckless and stupid" to "perfectly sensible" as far as an extraction mission was concerned.

Reassured that not all of their leaders were idiots, Neji settled in and waited for when his skills would be needed.

* * *

><p>Kakashi checked again, then tapped the dragon's neck a couple of times to get his attention. When the dragon looked back he gave a nod and pointed down.<p>

This was Wave Country, somewhere he hadn't been to in quite a few years. Not since that mission to the ruins of Whirlpool involving the Maelstrom Codex, but the details of that particular mission were so classified he couldn't even revisit them in a flashback.

Though maybe, if that donut shop was still in business. That part had just been getting a quick snack. The genin could watch themselves while he snuck off to taste those pastries again for a few minutes, right?

* * *

><p>The approach and landing were relatively silent. Considering the size of the dragon - almost unnaturally so. However, this was relative silence. There was still a large thud and the sound of wood cracking as the landing occurred.<p>

"Okay," said Kakashi as he leapt off the dragon and landed lightly on the water's edge. "We'll need to get the lay of the land. Naruto, you scout that way. Dragon-san, if you'll go off and dismiss yourself?"

"Right," rumbled the dragon as the rest of the passengers dismounted and gathered around. Except that Neji missed a step as he realized the "dumb beast" had spoken.

"Gotcha, Kakashi-sensei," said Naruto just before a dragon formed out of water and attacked.

The solid dragon moved with surprising speed, turning its head and then spitting a purple-red ball of something. The ball struck the water construct, went through it and left mist and large water blobs in its wake. Not slowed down, the sphere went along until it encountered something solid.

Such as the ninja standing on the water who blocked it with a very large sword.

Well, tried to block it with a very large sword.

* * *

><p>The plan had been simple enough, even if it was a BACKUP plan. Plan A, after all, had been to let the pathetic genin team go limping back to Konoha. There really was no reason for them to be killed, no bounties to be collected, no skilled warrior to pit himself against. They'd holed up in that Tazuna's house instead. No doubt they had <span>some<span> method of getting word back to Konoha, and so Plan B had been born.

Wait around in the spot that would be the most likely point for reinforcements to arrive. Scatter them and then target the most powerful among their number. Kill Tazuna and then there would be no reason for any of the by then terrified genin to stick around.

That jonin he'd fought earlier had been initially tricky but ultimately easy. The guy had had to be in his late fifties and should have retired from ninja life. The bats and some kind of sonic jutsu had allowed that jonin to see through fog and even figure out what was a water clone and what was real. His bat-shaped shuriken had included explosive ones and a few that deployed grappling lines. Had he been twenty years younger, it might have made a memorable fight.

As it was, the guy had started coughing just as the fight was getting into full swing and his guard had lowered despite the old man's efforts.

Zabuza Momochi was a professional, and though it was a very unsatisfying kill - he'd taken it. Striking down a potentially skilled foe because they had gotten old and infirm was a perfectly valid tactic for a ninja. Zabuza found it terribly disappointing though, because the old guy's skills might have provided enough challenge to make things interesting.

Zabuza Momochi had not expected to see the reinforcements arrive on a dragon, but on seeing them bunched together had immediately launched the water dragon technique. Take whatever advantage you can, strike hard, and move on to the next target.

Had the attack hit, it would have scattered the genin and put the jonin at a momentary disadvantage. Quick and overpowering violence was usually a pretty good way to start a fight.

The dragon had spit some sort of fireball to disrupt his technique, and he'd moved Kubikiribocho to block it.

Then everything went black. And painful.

Okay, that much remembered, Zabuza opened his eyes. "Haku?"

"Yes, Zabuza-sama?" came the familiar voice from nearby.

"My arms and face are numb," noted Zabuza aloud.

"I had to apply anesthetic to the burns, Zabuza-sama," said Haku, moving into his field of vision. "It will help the healing process."

"The smell of peppermint?" asked Zabuza.

"Your skin was very badly burned," repeated Haku. "Peppermint oil covers the smell to some extent."

There was a brief silence as Zabuza considered that before continuing. "How damaged is Kubikiribocho?"

"Well, about that, Zabuza-sama," said Haku.

Zabuza was pretty sure he wasn't going to like this.

* * *

><p>"Damnit, stop destroying the enemy swords!" Sasuke glared at the dragon.<p>

"Kakashi," said Gai thoughtfully. "Your genin's summons is quite impressive. I am not sure how to counter as none of my team are particularly well suited for the turtle contract." Rock Lee would be ideal, except for his difficulty with ninjutsu and keeping a stable chakra output. Tenten didn't have the reserves either, and Neji relied on his Byakugan and the Gentle Fist techniques. It was mildly vexing that his cool and hip rival's team should have a cool and hip summons while his own team had to do without.

"Do you suppose that nin who swooped in and grabbed the body was an ally?" asked Sakura.

"Of us, no," said Kakashi, ignoring Gai. He had a lot of practice with that. "Of the enemy nin? Almost certainly. That was Zabuza Momochi, one of the fabled Seven Swordsmen of the Mist."

"And this?" asked Sasuke, holding up a long handle and a very shortened blade.

"It used to be Kubikiribocho, the 'decapitating carving knife sword'," said Kakashi.

Sasuke made a disgusted sound about the current state of the blade.

"What exactly was that attack?" asked Rock Lee.

"It looked like the Water Dragon technique, also known as 'Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu' to purists," said Kakashi.

"Not that, whatever dragon-kun spat at the enemy nin," said Lee. "It seemed quite effective."

"It vaporized part of the sword, melted most of the rest of it, caused a steam explosion in the immediate vicinity, and left the ninja holding the sword on fire," said Tenten, not aware of how her expression largely mirrored Sasuke's over the loss of the sword. "And you call it 'effective'? I move to call it the 'Overkill Ball' attack."

"When we fought sea monsters at Fortune Beach, it wasn't enough to kill some of those things," protested Naruto. He was also a little put off in someone deciding they could name his attacks.

Tenten looked back out at the area that had been hit, then over at Naruto, finally at the dragon. "If something took several hits like that - I don't want to meet it."

"Well, at least one of the enemy nin is incapacitated," summed up Kakashi. "Even if he survives, that HAD to hurt."

The group walked in silence for a few moments, leaving the dragon and its summoner behind to scout, before Rock Lee decided he HAD to ask. "Your team got to fight sea monsters?"

* * *

><p>"Okay, 'Team 8' is it?" asked Keri. "Fine. I've tasks for all of you. Oh, and young man? If your dog does what he's contemplating to any of my torii, YOU are going to be cleaning it up."<p>

"Arowl?" asked Akamaru.

"Don't give me that," stated Keri flatly. "I saw that rear leg twitch."

Kiba glanced between Akamaru and the shrine priestess. "Uhm."

"Aruuu, arf," indicated Akamaru.

"Shrine priestess," explained Keri. "A shrine priestess in a ninja village, no less. I would think that NOT having special abilities would be more of a stretch of the imagination."

"Raf."

"It's generally not polite with humans to comment on what they smell like," advised the shrine priestess.

"Grr rowr," indicated Akamaru.

"Well, you might have a point there," said Keri thoughtfully.

"Uhm..." Kiba interrupted, looking between Akamaru and Keri. "He has a point. You do smell kind of like fire."

"I have a pretty strong fire element," admitted Keri. "Now... young man? You with the glasses."

"Shino Aburame," indicated the genin.

"Shino. Recall your insects." Keri fixed the youth with a pointed stare.

"You were able to detect my kikaichu?" asked Shino. "Fascinating. I assure you that it is standard practice for me to tag individuals in order to locate them more readily later. They pose no harm to you."

"If I practice certain techniques, you would lose them," said Keri. Her eyes flicked to the three members of Team 8 one after the other. "Honestly, you're not doing well in the first impressions category. You don't do this all the time do you?"

"T-t-they mean well," said Hinata, feeling very intimidated for some reason she couldn't quite grasp. "W-what mission do you have?"

"Just some shrine maintenance," said Keri. "The Hokage requested I check in with my kinsman, just in case - so I'll be away for a bit. Don't disturb Naruko though - she's studying."

"NaruKO?" asked Hinata.

* * *

><p>Neji Hyuga prided himself on being a genius of the prestigious Hyuga clan. For all that he was a branch member, there was a lot to take pride in. Still, it was fate that he was the rookie of the year for his particular class at the Academy. It was fate that he was as skilled as he was.<p>

His eyes saw all and weighed this group. He didn't activate his Byakugan now though, merely went over what he'd observed earlier.

The boy Naruto Uzumaki. Dead last of his class. Yet the pink-haired kunoichi had stated something of a 'bloodline awakening' and that he'd improved since then. As he was not aware of an Uzumaki clan within the village, he was unsure what to make of this development.

From what he'd seen when the unloading of the dragon's harness had taken place, his strength was exceptional. His chakra network was also particularly dense, thick, and bright. Once he slipped in the mud and judging from the tracks - he weighed more than was normal for a genin. The boy also had several packs of various snackfoods, mainly jerky and ration bars. Possibly his bloodline was related to the Akimichi one, however it didn't manifest in girth but in some internal method.

The other boy was easier to understand. The Uchiha clan and the abilities of their Sharingan were more of a known quantity. The last of his clan, an elite clan among those of the village. Where the Byakugan had many uses in combat and outside of that venue as well, the Sharingan was something focussed on shinobi conflicts entirely.

Neji had heard a rumor that the Byakugan was actually descended from the Sharingan, but he'd not run across any facts yet to confirm this. It could simply be some idle speculation for all he knew.

The pink-haired kunoichi seemed to be one of those 'genius-idiots' who could rattle off just about anything she'd read, but was otherwise prone to indulge in foolishness.

Their jonin-sensei was Kakashi Hatake, who was the rival of their own Gai-sensei. However, his attitude seemed a complete opposite from their own sensei.

Neji activated his Byakugan, looking at the book in the jonin's hands to see if it gave him further clues.

* * *

><p>The house had been broken into recently, as evidenced by the section of roof which had been torn up. There was also a lack of a front door to consider.<p>

The guy in front had a Konoha headband, a sash, and had one arm in a sling. "You the back up?"

"Something like that," admitted Kakashi. "Status of your team?"

"Gennai. I've got a broken arm," said the genin. "Inaho has chakra exhaustion, and Komugi's asleep. He had watch last night. We've been attacked twice by mercenaries. Low level thugs really. The enemy nin on the other hand, have only attacked once and that looked to be more of a test of our combat potential."

"What about the enemy nin?" asked Kakashi, judging the genin to be about ready to fall over from exhaustion.

"Zabuza Momochi," said Gennai. "Kenjutsu specialist with a set of water techniques. The other nin we don't know much about - one of sensei's summons picked up the other hiding and observing the fight."

"How soon will your team be ready for evac?" asked Kakashi.

"We're ready now," said Gennai. "We've just been holed up because those enemy nin are still out there."

"Ah," said Kakashi.

"Neji, take to the roof," said Gai. "Your skills would be best used in keeping watch. Tenten, Lee - you're with me."

"Sasuke, Sakura, you're with me."

"What the heck happened to Naruto?" asked Sakura abruptly. "How long does it take for him to dismiss his summons and catch up?"

"He was supposed to scout the area with his summons before dismissing him, just in case there were more enemy nin." Kakashi glanced around. "If he DID encounter enemies, I expect we'd hear the dragon roaring and the sound of massive destruction."

Sakura considered the dragon and what she'd seen of Naruto since his bloodline activated. That made a lot of sense actually.

* * *

><p>Naruto was a little nervous, not that he'd admit it. ESPECIALLY if Sasuke were around.<p>

There were enemy ninja around, and he remembered how poorly he'd fared against Kakashi-sensei in that Bell Test. So far he'd just seen the one enemy jonin/high level ninja that had greeted them with that water-dragon thingie. He'd done pretty well against the sea monsters, but those had mostly been pretty weak and he'd fought them in his dragon-form.

He wondered next if he could learn that water manipulation technique, it had possibilities for pranking and just everyday use.

Not his breath attack though. That tended to destroy stuff and sometimes you didn't want to destroy the target.

Someone had thrown that dragon made of water at him and he'd responded automatically. Instinctively throwing one of his spheres (he was NOT calling it a 'Overkill Ball') at the oncoming rival dragon with a little extra force.

The result had destroyed the construct and then he'd lost sight of what all had happened because of the steam and smoke and blast of fire.

He wouldn't be able to luck out in the future though. There were bound to be some tough opponents here, as they'd managed to take down the first genin team.

With over a dozen shadow clones of him scouting out the area, that should give him some chance of finding any enemy that was near to this residential area.

So far nothing though.

"Man, this place has seen better days," noted Naruto aloud as he moved through the village.

"That symbol? Are you an Uzumaki?" asked an old woman behind a counter, adjusting a pair of old cracked glasses as she peered at him.

"Yeah! Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage of Konohagakure!" declared Naruto proudly, thumping his chest.

"...oh, you don't have the red hair," said the old woman.

"But I am an Uzumaki, got the bloodline and everything!" declared Naruto.

"Really? Imagine that," said the old woman.

"No seriously!" said Naruto.

"I'd like to see you prove it," said the old woman.

Naruto frowned, plucked her glasses off her face. "Uzumaki special technique, modified Fabricate - Repair!"

The woman took the glasses back, mumbling something rather impolite under her breath, and checked. "Damn fool. You can't fix glasses that easily. These are corrective lenses you know. It's all blurry there."

"Oh," said Naruto, thinking that maybe he needed some work on that special manuever after all.

The old woman considered the boy for a moment, then shrugged. "Nami, seller of trinkets and treasures. Or what I can make or scrounge up or make out of what I scrounge up. Anything you like here, Naruto of Konoha?"

"Meh, I dunno, I was just told to scout the area," said Naruto, looking over the little table of odds-and-ends.

"Hmmm," hmmmmed Nami. "Got a sweetheart back in your village who'd fancy some jewelry? Maybe a nice parrot?"

"It's dead," said Naruto, glancing at the bird at the bottom of the cage.

"No, no, it's just resting," Nami assured him. "Had a prolonged squawk whilst pining for the fjords."

"What's a fjord?" asked Naruto.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I think it's a sled one goes down icy hills on," said Nami thoughtfully. "There was something about driving a fjord after all..."

"Uhm, right," said Naruto. Looking over the pieces, he noticed one was a bit different from the others. "Why is that one glowy?"

"What do you mean 'glowy'?" asked Nami.

"Huh, that's weird, I wonder why that keeps happening," said Naruto, not seeing a glow on it anymore. "How much is this one?"

"Ah, that's a fine piece," said Nami. "Many years ago, a crew of pirates brought this in and traded it for supplies. It is said that their ghosts come howling in on MidWinter Night in search of their lost treasure."

"Really?" asked Naruto.

Nami blinked as she realized the boy had indeed swallowed her tale. "Ah. Of course, young sir. Why these were the pirates of the..." Nami's eyes looked around for something suitable to throw into her story. "The straw hat! Yes, they were the straw hattery pirates!"

"They didn't wear eyepatches and bandanas and stuff?" asked Naruto.

"No, the sun when you get out in the water can be kind of rough, so these brigands wore straw hats to keep the sun off," said Nami. Of course, being as this used to be a village that got a lot of sea-based trade - she knew how unmerciful the sun could be out there. "They were ruthless and fierce - but they did believe in protecting themselves from the sun."

"Oh, that makes sense," said Naruto after considering the idea.

"It does? Oh, yes, of course it does," agreed Nami. "Clearly I could not let such a priceless item go for any less than... two thousand ryo?"

"Oh, I've only got twenty," said Naruto.

"SOLD!"

* * *

><p>"They sent two genin teams to extract us?" Inaho asked.<p>

"Everyone else was busy, but we've got transport ready," said Kakashi, leaning against a wall and apparently unconcerned. "There's just one matter to be taken care of first."

"Indeed," said Gai.

"What is that, Gai-sensei?" asked Lee.

"It's going after this Tazuna guy for misrepresenting the severity of the mission?" asked Komugi.

"No, though I expect there will be some discussion of that in the near future," admitted Kakashi.

"There is whoever killed Ichimaru-sensei - still out there," noted Inaho. "Though he's really powerful. I doubt you can do anything about him... wait. That sword handle. Where did you get it?"

"Eh?" asked Sasuke, holding the stump of what had once been a sword.

"That's..." Komugi blinked as he stared at it, now that his attention had been brought to it. "That's the sword of the foreign nin. Just a lot shorter."

"Oh?" asked Kakashi. "Well, he's already pretty badly injured then. Steam burns can be pretty bad."

* * *

><p>"Fuss and bother, he just got back from a mission that had sea monsters involved," complained Keri as she adjusted her backpack. Going off-trail, she waited until she'd judged she'd gone about five miles before shifting.<p>

Not to full size, of course. By using the shapeshifting and Reduce - this form was a mere twelve feet long. Which was still sizable but not likely to cause farmers to panic and start petitioning the Hokage to send dragonslayers out.

The only problem she found was that it was rather like trying not to sneeze. Keri put it on her list to come up with an alternate form for these journeys, something relatively easy to maintain and fast enough that her speed wasn't too compromised.

* * *

><p>"Hey you, kid, hand over the bauble and nobody has to get hurt."<p>

Naruto blinked and looked up, and continued to look up. "Damn, you're huge!"

"Heh, that's what all the gals say," said the rather large individual.

"Knock it off with the stock response crap," said one of the two normal-sized guys flanking the taller one. "Just knock the kid down and take his gewgaw there."

"Oh," said Naruto, hefting his recent purchase. "Is that what this is? A 'gewgaw'?"

"Uhm, no, that's a general term for little baubly bit like that," said the third member of the group.

"Oh," said Naruto, putting the thing in a pocket and adjusting his Konoha headband. "Too bad."

"Yeah another kid playing ninja," said the apparent boss. "Go ahead, Tiny. Rough him up a bit."

"Sorry kid, boss' orders, nothing personal," said Tiny as he reached out and grabbed Naruto's shoulder. Then he grunted as he was having trouble shoving Naruto aside.

"So, you guys beat up Konoha ninja?" asked Naruto. He reached up with one hand to grab Tiny's arm. _CRACK!_

All three of the would-be muggers paled. One from pain, two from shock.

"Great. I need some information," said Naruto, still holding onto Tiny's now-broken arm. "How about helping me out?"

"You don't scare us," said the leader, pulling a large knife out of his jacket.

"You gotta be kidding me," said Naruto.

* * *

><p>Sasuke had just settled into a position on the roof not far from Neji when some rough-looking civilian came sailing through the air, went over the house, and crashed into the upper branches of a tree.<p>

"Byakugan," went Neji.

"Don't need a special jutsu to see Naruto's back," commented Sasuke drily.

"Yes, and he's dragging two civilians behind him," said Neji, frowning. "One has a broken arm and knee, the other has merely had both shoulders dislocated."

"Hnn," hnned Sasuke.

That was punctuated by the treed civilian falling out of the tree, screaming briefly before impacting the ground.

"He... seems somewhat more capable than I was lead to believe," said Neji.

"Hnnn," agreed Sasuke.

"That is quite irritating, you know," noted Neji.

"Hnnn?"

"No," admitted Neji. "I was thinking of adopting it myself."

Sasuke stood up and dusted off the bottom of his pants. "I'll go see what's going on."

* * *

><p>"Naruto, you shouldn't have brought them here. Now they know where we've been staying," said Kakashi.<p>

"Actually," said the big guy. "Everyone knows where you've been staying. We were part of the mercenaries led to assault this house as a warning."

"Would have gotten away with it, except for these meddling kids," muttered the one who'd fallen out of a tree.

"Funny how that works out," said Kakashi jovially. "Now, since my first concern has been addressed, how about some answers."

"HAH! As if we'd talk," said the boss of the three. "You'll get no answers from us!"

"Oh?" asked Kakashi. "Well, if you don't have any answers, we can always feed you to the dragon."

"'Dragon'? Don't make me laugh," said the boss.

Sasuke smirked and turned to go get Naruto. _This should be amusing._

* * *

><p>"-and this is where the mercenary forces gather," said Anoki, the apparent leader of the three muggers as he pointed at a section of map.<p>

"I see," said Kakashi.

The dragon's head nudged a little closer, looking things on that map over.

This drew a few eeps and other noises from the three captives.

"Gai?" asked Kakashi, almost lazily.

Gai summarized as he pointed to spots on the map. "Foreign ninja here. Mercenaries are here. This boss 'Gato' is here. Pickets and guards at all the approaches. Save one."

"Which one?" asked Neji, who had looked over the map and was a little dismissive as his Byakugan could have obtained information like this once they'd narrowed down the location a bit more.

"Death from the skies," said Tenten, nearly moved to smack her team-mate in the back of the head. "How many times can you spit those lightning balls?"

The dragon considered the girl, edging back a bit as he noted another squee-glomp might be coming up. "Three, I think."

The various jonin and genin considered the likely consequences of a mercenary camp of about thirty in a small area being hit with three of those balls of destruction.

"Is it permitted to feel sympathy for enemy forces in such a situation?" asked Rock Lee.

"I think, in these circumstances, that it might just be," said Gai. "Actually, this is a good opportunity for you - Tenten."

"Me?" asked Tenten.

"I have overheard the possibility of ranged combat being undertaken while the dragon is flying," explained Gai.

"An opportunity to test that," said Kakashi sounding thoughtful. Or he could have been bored. Sometimes it was hard to tell. "Fine. Oh, will someone knock out our guests?"

Neji moved from one to the next, using quick strikes that wouldn't leave lasting damage but would leave the victims unconscious for an extended period.

"First we'll have Neji use his Byakugan to confirm the enemy numbers and positions," said Gai.

"Right," said Kakashi. "When he's done that, if it confirms this information - then we have Naruto's dragon and Tenten do a flyby. Blow up the mercenary encampment, sow some destruction and chaos. Naruto - sowing chaos is your specialty after all."

"Got it covered!" said Naruto's shadow clone with a grin that threatened to cover his entire face.

"Once things are thrown into disarray, we can then attack the area with the missing-nin and the boss." Gai frowned at the map briefly.

Neji glanced at Gai, noting as he had several times that when the mission was in-play that the often clownish "fires of youth" jonin tended to get much more serious. It was easy to dismiss the man when one encountered him away from that more-serious mode. Not so much when things were actually going on.

"We'll have to leave a guard in case more mercenaries show up here," said Kakashi.

Momentary silence.

"Don't everyone volunteer at once," said Kakashi.

"I've recovered enough that I can handle anything coming here," said Inaho. Who was a little put off in that her team was being rescued by a group of kids fresh out of the Academy. Also that a group of kids fresh out of the Academy had a DRAGON that looked like it could eat half that mercenary force before burping and going back for seconds.

"Your chakra is still less than half what your capacity is," said Neji. "Your two team-mates are in worse shape."

"Yosh!" said Lee, fist-pumping. "As much as I want to be in on the assault team. I shall remain behind, as the primary mission objective is to safeguard this team."

"Actually, I was thinking Sasuke and Sakura should remain behind, but maybe Sakura can stay here with Lee," said Kakashi.

Rock Lee brightened considerably for some unknown reason.

"Why me, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sakura.

"Close combat is the primary requirement of the assault team," noted Kakashi, not mentioning that this would allow Sakura to remain a kid and not bloody her hands quite yet.

"Ah," said Sakura, noting that the kid with the weird eyebrows and green bodysuit was staring at her again.

"My only concern is this area here," said Gai, tapping a square on the map that didn't have any details. "Whatever business Gato has operating here could be a problem."

* * *

><p>Ichimaru Kawariyaku<br>Rank: Jonin, Affiliation: Konohagakure  
>Academy Graduation Age: 12<br>Combat Promotion to Chunin at age 14  
>Nature Type: Earth Release<br>Known for using a bat-motif on his equipment when he was younger. Contracted with a clan of bat-summons. Developed lung problems after dealing with a poison gas attack while on a mission dealing with Kiri-based pirates.

Just got back from Project Akon, hope everyone who attended had fun. Hope everyone else whose elevators weren't working didn't have to go up as many stairs as i did... ouch.


	8. Chapter 8: Wave

**Spiral Dragon**

by Greylle

DISCLAIMER: Original series belong to someone else.  
>NOTE: We continue with the Wave Mission, there's a crossover here. Sort of, in that they're local area analogues of familiar characters, but if they show up again after this chapter it will be part of a crowd scene in the Chunin Exams if that.<p>

Spiral Dragon, part eight: Very Bad Day

* * *

><p>Neji activated his Byakugan, studied the area, then clicked the headset. "Scout-1 reporting. Details confirmed. Unknown area on map consists of crates of various books and albums, odd devices, and four female prisoners. Cages are wood, with some sort of seal tags in place. Over."<p>

"Roger Scout-1," came Gai's voice. "Initiate rescue operation when signal is given. Wait for signal."

"Acknowledged," sent Neji before taking his thumb off the transceiver. _What signal?_

"ROARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" came a terrible sound and a wave of something like Killing Intent but far more powerful rolled through the area. An innocent fluffy cloud overhead was abruptly shredded as scaled death descended at high speeds.

Three spheres of crackling energy sped forward as the beast swooped past. Explosions ensued, screams of terror and despair came from the mercenary camp.

"Ah," said Neji, nodding. "That signal."

* * *

><p>Daimaru Nobuhito was a mercenary working for Gato. He didn't LIKE working for Gato, but it was a living and he considered himself a survivor. Working for Gato meant doing some down and dirty deeds, but he was fine with that. End justified the means, and the end in this case was continued employment at a good rate of pay. That wasn't being amoral or anything, that was just enlightened self-interest.<p>

"-so I was thinking of sampling the merchandise over there," said Kaiza, leaning against a post. "That little brunette one especially."

"She's eight and a virgin, you do anything like that - you cut into Gato's profits. You DON'T want to cut into Gato's profits," noted Daimaru.

"Meh, well maybe one of the others, that redhead looks kinda tasty," said Kaiza. "Only live once after all."

"ROARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"

"What the hell was that?" asked one of the other mercenaries, looking up from sword-sharpening.

That was when it hit. It was like that Killing Intent stuff a ninja could pump out, only worse. This combined disdain, anger, hunger, and just sheer confidence that you had just drawn the attention of something older and more powerful than you by an order of magnitude. It said that not only were you going to die, it would be painful, and it could only end in one being devoured as a screaming insect that wouldn't even put a dent in this being's appetite. It spoke directly to the ancient instincts of prey facing a predator and shouted 'flee and hide NOW' in those deep recesses of the human mind.

Some of the mercenaries broke from that, dropping to knees and clutching heads, wailing and crying.

Then the world seemed to explode. Daimaru had been looking in Kaiza's direction when he was simply not there anymore, the stump of a burning post and ground that was melting as some crackling energy spread out from it. Of Kaiza there simply wasn't anything left except maybe ash on the wind.

By that time he glanced up, saw what was coming down out of the clouds, and soiled himself.

Daimaru was actually grateful for the kunai that came sailing down from the kunoichi on the dragon's back.

* * *

><p>Zabuza wasn't used to anyone picking him up and running with him, as he WAS pretty sizable after all.<p>

Haku only made it a short distance before having to stop.

"What. The. Hell?" asked Zabuza, leaning against a tree as he straightened up enough to see what was going on back at Gato's complex.

The dragon swooped past on another run, its tail lashing out as it passed in order to shred one side of the main building. The mercenary camp was quite literally burning. In all, it looked as if an angry god had decided the place was an eyesore and needed to be cleansed down to the bedrock.

"Zabuza-sama," said Haku.

"Yes, Haku?" asked Zabuza, not taking his eyes off the scene of destruction before him. As far as statements of intent - he approved on a purely professional level. The message being sent was quite obviously 'don't make me angry, you won't like me when I'm angry' or something along that line.

"When you told me that Konohagakure was soft, a village of treehuggers, and weak," said Haku, pausing as he searched for the proper words.

"I changed my mind," said Zabuza. "Some of them, like those genin from earlier, ARE soft and weak. Some of them, clearly, are not. Have you gathered your insurance policy?"

Haku held up a pouch, then noticed Zabuza was still watching the carnage being inflicted not all that far away. "It goes by many names, Zabuza-sama, but one of those names is 'dragonbane' - it should be effective."

"Good, after this their guard should be down and we can strike," said Zabuza.

* * *

><p>"Ah," said Keri, having taken human form and looking from a distance. "Looks like he's having fun."<p>

It wasn't as if it was hard to tell where Naruto was. The fire and explosions were pretty much a giveaway.

Naruto landed not too far away from a compound wall and roared, a sonic assault that caused some of the mercenaries to find their feet and start fleeing while removing anything on their persons that would slow their escape.

There were two fairly powerful humans over there, also apparently content to watch events. No point in investigating them, as she was getting no active hostility off either. There was a flash of anger from one, but it was quickly smothered.

Yes, it looked as if things were coming along. Good. She might not have to get involved at all.

* * *

><p><em>a few minutes ago:<em>

"I still blame you, you know."

"Me?! How is it MY fault?"

"If you hadn't gotten angry at that boy and punched him through a wall, we would have found out he was only there to take over as manager. If we'd known that, we wouldn't have been tossed out of our building. If we hadn't been tossed out, we wouldn't have been homeless and trying to take shelter under a bridge. If we hadn't been THERE, this guy wouldn't have given us that offer of shelter."

"How was I supposed to know?! He was in the bath!"

"I said that Gato looked like a greasy pig. You said you'd heard of him being filthy rich."

"Then why not blame Mitsune?! She's the one who practically jumped on the opportunity!"

"Eh, so we have to act out a few porno movies. So far it's not so bad."

"That's why," said the girl with glasses. "She has no sense of shame to appeal to."

"Is that a bird?" asked the youngest of the group, pointing out through the bars of her cage.

"ROARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"

* * *

><p>Neji made his way through the break in the compound wall, easily knocked out the two guards that had not run screaming for the horizon, and went to the cages.<p>

To his surprise, one of the girls present was NOT cringing in a little ball at the bottom of her cage. She was shaking and down on one knee, but still doing better than any of the guards had.

"Impressive," said Neji to the girl as the others slowly recovered. "For a civilian. You were only in the outer edge of our dragon's attack, but you have done better than any of these mercenaries."

As he had intended, this brought the various prisoner's attention to him and reassured them slightly. Which was good as rescuing the prisoners would be a lot easier if they were able to walk themselves.

"Your headband. Konohagakure?" asked the black-haired girl who'd not completely collapsed under whatever Uzumaki's dragon had pumped out. An interesting attack, one that wordlessly communicated the idea that one's Fate had just arrived and was at least moderately painful.

"Yes. A way out has been prepared, you can escape now." Neji helpfully pointed towards the gap in the compound.

"Wait a minute, what about clothes? What about food?!" Some long-haired girl was yelling at him.

Neji checked the seals, then threw kunai out that pierced a seal on the sides closest him. There was a brief crackle of red electricity as those seals were disrupted. He then set to breaking their cages one after the other. "You can stay here if you want. It's not safe, but it's your choice. Fate has smiled on you, but if you are too stupid to live - then that is your fate too."

"WHAT?!" yelled the angry girl.

Neji watched the black-haired girl and the older girl armlock the angry girl and march her off. That left the youngest who walked up to him, and bowed once before him. That was sufficient that he inclined his head in return and then watched them climb off and make their path away.

* * *

><p>Gato came out of his offices, looking around him and gaping at what he saw.<p>

"ROARRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"

The fires and wreckage and smouldering tents and screaming/running mercenaries all assumed a secondary consideration. First consideration was the rather obvious monster wrecking his business! "SOMEBODY KILL THAT BIG UGLY LIZARD!"

Gato took two steps back as suddenly the big lizard was abruptly giving HIM its full attention.

Slowly and deliberately the big lizard-thing moved with the same sort of casual grace that Gato could vaguely remember seeing somewhere. Oh yeah, it was when a cat was about to rip apart a mouse. Yeah. That was it. That was... very very not good.

"Don't you know who I am?" yelled Gato.

_KA-CHUNK!_

Gato looked down at his chest, seeing the spear shaft extending from the center of it. All the red stain soaking through his expensive silk shirt. "I'm... dead?"

He last looked up to see the girl on the dragon's back, who met his eyes before she threw a kunai through a nearby mercenary's skull.

Then everything went dark.

* * *

><p>"So, what we've got here are four girls taken as slaves," said Kakashi. "Six crates of Black Lotus. Two crates of combat enhancement drugs..."<p>

"Nasty stuff," said Gai. "I've fought bandits who use them. It's like releasing the first two Inner Gates, but even more damaging to the body of the person using them."

Kakashi continued on as if he hadn't heard. "One crate of 'Silver Dreams' - a hallucinogen."

"Also bad stuff," said Tenten. "I've heard of that. It's based on a poison that Kiri used to use. Some people take that and start screaming about things with angles that are all wrong and gargling out weird languages."

"Most people who have used that unyouthful substance have to be put down for the good of those around them eventually," said Gai. "Even Kiri balked at the effects of that."

Left unsaid was that if even the kill-craziest ninja village of the Elemental Countries wouldn't use it - it was some seriously nasty stuff.

"And fifteen crates of material that I will have to examine in more detail later," summed up Kakashi.

"Porn you mean," said Neji, managing to sound a bit disgusted at that.

"Perhaps we should just burn it all?" mused Gai, looking up at the dragon.

The dragon grinned back.

_Clearly, the dragon has the fires of youth burning within him,_ decided Gai.

"That won't be necessary," said Kakashi. "I'll handle it."

* * *

><p>If you asked about Tenten, most of Konohagakure would have no real information about her. If you asked those who had interacted with her, most of the mission clients that Team Gai had been around would describe her as "the sane member of the team" or "serious shinobi, likes to throw weapons" or even "that girl with the double-bun hairstyle."<p>

Tenten had originally idolized Tsunade of the Sannin, had proven to have no skill at medical ninjutsu, but to be proficient at storage seals. So she went with her strength instead of following her idol's footsteps.

That wasn't her focus though. Investigation was, as well as fortune telling, something she got enthusiastic about. It fit under "hobbies" but helped round out the investigative abilities on her team, so it was useful and encouraged.

She KNEW something was up. What that something was - she didn't know, but she aimed to find out.

"Excuse me, you are the team working with my nephew's team, are you not?"

Tenten blinked and threw off her preoccupation with whatever detail had gotten her attention. Long brilliant red hair, red long skirt, white top. No concealed weapons. Unless you counted the papers in the sleeves of her top, which could be explosive tags or something.

"Indeed! You are the priestess of the Hiryu Shrine, are you not?" said Gai.

"Keristrasza, though I go by the name 'Keri' as it is easier for those of the Elemental Countries to pronounce that," said the priestess.

Tenten settled down to watch. She'd heard a few things, not that she gossiped - but she did keep her ears open for things of interest. One of which had been the recent development of the Hiryu Shrine, notable to her because the shrine priestess was supposedly VERY strong and able to nearly fight a jonin to a draw.

"You are an Uzumaki?" asked Gai.

"Of a sort, as far as family branches go - mine was a bit distant," said Keri.

"Hmmmm," hmmmed Neji from nearby.

"Hmmmm?" asked Tenten, not quite whispering as she watched Gai and the priestess exchange a few words.

"Her chakra flows are like that dragon summoner's," said Neji. "Very unusual."

"How so?" asked Tenten.

Neji considered that for a moment, dropping the Byakugan as he considered what he'd seen. Not only further analyzing what he'd seen, but considering how to relay that to someone without the Byakugan. "Most ninja, when I look at their chakra pathways I see the blue fire of their chakra at the hara - about the bottom of the ribcage. Their chakra pathways are thin lines from that source, and their tenketsu are where those pathways are close to the surface."

Tenten realized there was something puzzling Neji about them as well, because otherwise Neji wasn't really all that communicative. He was trying to figure out something "off" about the Uzumaki clan as well. "And hers is different?"

"Red and golden fire at the hara, very bright. Her chakra network is very thick and solid-looking. She said she's a priestess and not a ninja, but her chakra level is jonin level at least."

"More than Gai-sensei?" asked Tenten.

Neji nodded.

Tenten hmmmed a little and watched the two. They weren't talking as loud as they had been, so it required some guesswork as well as the occasional gesture fitted with the few words that she could make out. "So she's looking for her nephew?"

"Apparently," said Neji, losing interest. _The workings of some lesser clan is of no interest to the Hyuga._

"Hey, they're at the bridge today, I can show you," said Tenten as she hopped off the fence she'd been sitting on.

* * *

><p>Tenten glanced at the woman's bundle.<p>

"So, just 'Tenten'? No clan name?" asked Keri as the two walked along.

"No clan," said Tenten. "Orphan."

"Ah," said Keri. "Until I arrived, my nephew was quite alone as well."

"Not likely to happen in my case, and I lost everyone when I was too young to remember anything of them," said Tenten. Past was the past, not something you could change - and therefore not something to dwell on.

"You have something though," said Keri, studying her for a moment. "Not quite a full kekkei genkai though."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," said Tenten after considering that for a moment. "All my skills were developed through hard work."

"That's good, such things are all the more meaningful than some lucky twist of genetics, don't you think?" asked Keri.

"So... what exactly does the Uzumaki bloodline do?" asked Tenten after they had passed a dead tree on the trail. She hesitated for a moment.

"Keep walking child," whispered Keri. "Oh, stamina and chakra capacity mainly. Some talent with fuuinjutsu, more prone to the artistic side of that skill. Naruto and I have the Awakened form - which adds a considerable amount of strength and durability to the package."

"Plus your contract with the dragons," noted Tenten aloud.

"Two of them, hanging back. One smells of herbs, the other of blood and metal," whispered Keri, who then pitched her voice into normal conversation. "Oh yes. That too."

Tenten added mentally that sense of smell must be enhanced as well, though she'd only detected one pursuer. Definitely a valuable bloodline then, with sensory and direct combat applications. Might be useful to be friendly with them at least.

"Well," said Keri, pointing ahead of them. "Is that the bridge?"

"Yes," said Tenten, whose eyes widened as she felt a presence suddenly looming up directly behind her. She cursed as she realized she was going to be too slow in turning to deal with it.

There was a loud clash of metal-on-metal, and Tenten finished turning to see that the priestess had produced an ornamental fan from up her sleeve and was blocking a katana with it.

"If your quarrel is a ninja battle, please leave me out of it," said Keri. "As a priestess, I need to maintain some neutrality. If you attack me though, I may need to be suitably violent."

Tenten saw how the smaller woman was casually holding off the much bigger and more muscular swordsman - who WAS straining.

After a moment of straining against the woman, and determining he'd have better luck pushing a mountain, the man leapt back.

"Zabuza Momochi."

"Keristrasza of the Hiryu Shrine in Konohagakure," said Keri, inclining her head to the ninja.

"Yeah, right," said Zabuza, clearly skeptical despite the bandages covering his lower face. "So you won't interfere, even if I attack your little nephew?"

"No," said Keri. "Unless you attack me or other non-ninja targets."

"What of her?" asked Zabuza, indicating Tenten.

"Tenten is currently doing me a favor, it would be rude if I allowed you to kill her without it being declared a ninja duel or something of that nature," said Keri, sounding thoughtful.

"Zabuza Momochi? I saw what was left of your sword," said Tenten.

Zabuza growled slightly at the reminder.

"I was going to see if it could be repaired," continued Tenten. "Do you know what kind of steel was used? I'm not familiar with it."

Zabuza stopped. "You've got it?"

"No, one of the other ninja has it, but has admitted it's useless to him," said Tenten. "He's promised to think about giving it to me."

"It would be useless to you," protested Zabuza.

"Legendary sword," pointed out Tenten. "Some stories say the blade can rebuild itself."

"Ah," said Zabuza, this encounter not going according to his script.

"You know a lot about it," said Keri. "You're a weapons specialist I take it?"

"Yes, I fill that role on my team," said Tenten.

"Well, I'll leave a few water clones to keep you from interfering, but I'm going to get my sword back now," said Zabuza, recovering his equilibrium.

* * *

><p>"Thick fog rolling in like this," said Naruto as the visibility went completely bad.<p>

"We're under attack," said Kakashi. "Tazuna-san, you might want to get out of the combat zone."

"If I can find a way..." said the old man, followed by a yelp and then a splash.

"I think he found a way off the bridge," said Naruto. "Summoning jutsu!"

"Why are you summoning a dragon?" asked Sasuke, knowing what was going on but not sure how close any enemy nin might be.

"It doesn't matter," said an unfamiliar voice. "I was prepared for that."

"Wha?!" asked Naruto-dragon's voice. "Eh whuuuu. Haaa?"

"What did you do?" asked Sasuke, trying to get the enemy to speak and give away their position.

"A plant called 'dragon bane' - rare but also useful for medicine and so I had a small supply," said the unfamiliar voice. "I managed to get the powder directly into the beast's nostrils."

"Ughwaaa, ahhhh," was Naruto-dragon's voice.

"Uh oh," said Sasuke, realizing that those were NOT death throes and having an idea what was going to happen.

"That's odd..." said the unfamiliar voice. "What's happeni-"

"WAH CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !" roared the dragon with enough volume that it was a physical presence.

The water in the fog began dispersing immediately, agitated beyond the point it could maintain being airborne.

Sasuke made out dim shapes at first, but was able to make out someone fighting Kakashi. The fog continued to clear with dim dark areas becoming shadowy outlines.

There was a big dragon-shape, sniffling and then hacking something up and spitting over the side.

Sasuke turned from the now-clear view of a dragon being ill. There were some thing best not observed.

And there... there was an enemy nin. Shattered mask. Ripped clothing. Laying on his back...

...covered in dragon-snot. Literally covered.

Sasuke went over to take the obviously stunned nin as prisoner, then motioned to the clone-Naruto to do it. After all, he could keep an eye out for other enemies and NOT get that gunk all over him as well.

* * *

><p>"So the Chunin Exams are soon?" asked Kiba.<p>

"Yes, you've got a couple of weeks to decide if you want to participate," said Kurenai Yuhi.

"Pshaw," said Kiba. "Of COURSE we'll participate."

"Because your safety can't be guaranteed in the Chunin Exams," said Kurenai. "Some people die during each and every one. It's part of the nature of such things."

"That's all... really?" asked Kiba.

"Yes," said Kurenai. "The first team I attended a Chunin Exam with, well, we lost one member. My team ended up getting a survivor from another team which had lost two of their three genin."

"Oh," said Kiba. "Dying just to pass some test doesn't sound that good.'

"Nonetheless, everyone who has made chunin who didn't do so as a battlefield promotion has survived exactly such things," said Kurenai. "Think about it. You've got time."

* * *

><p>Haku was unconscious, having been knocked down by a sneeze which had a rough impact force to being struck by a small car. While he was a tough ninja, even though he looked and generally dressed in a somewhat delicate manner, the attack was unexpected and sufficiently forceful that he'd been overwhelmed by it.<p>

Not to mention being covered in dragon-snot, which was slightly corrosive and definitely disgusting.

Sasuke and Naruto-clone got into an argument about who the heck was to clean it up, and how, while the dragon in question threw up over the side of the bridge and tried to clear runny eyes and sinuses.

Kakashi fought Zabuza, things were going normally for that except for one tiny detail.

Tenten, who managed to grab the moment of inattention from the two water-clone versions of Zabuza guarding them and attack with a level of overwhelming violence.

"Something wrong, dear?" asked Keri as the girl finished off the last of the water clones.

"Water clones are only about one-tenth as powerful as the real deal, normally," said Tenten. "I'm not going to be able to defeat Zabuza."

"Well, if you're sure of that - then that would be true," said Keri.

"Not a matter of confidence," said Tenten.

"What would a ninja do when facing overwhelming odds?" Keri wondered aloud.

Tenten edged forward, watching from the shoreline. "Well, what would a shrine priestess do?"

"Send for reinforcements, then change the odds," said Keri.

"What do you know, I think that's just what a ninja would do," said Tenten.

* * *

><p>"What?" asked Zabuza as a little spark went up into the air and suddenly flared a bright green.<p>

"Hmm, looks like a Konoha signal flare," said Kakashi.

"Did... I just hear someone off in the distance yell something about 'youth'?" asked Zabuza.

"Unfortunately, I heard it too," said Kakashi, sounding quite regretful.

"Then I'll just have to finish you off quickly!" declared Zabuza, slashing Kakashi in half, who then turned to water.

What followed was very confusing to the various genin, including the watching Tenten. A Kakashi attacked a Zabuza who attacked a Kakashi who was stabbing a Zabuza who was attacking a Kakashi.

"Good use of clone techniques, substitutions, and stealth techniques," said Keri after a few minutes of that during which time she and Tenten had joined the rest of the group.

"It's kinda confusing," said Naruto.

"Ninja," pointed out Keri. "Misdirection and evasion are more basic tools than kunai and shuriken."

"Very true," rumbled Zabuza from behind them, raising his sword up.

"Exactly," said Kakashi as he stabbed Zabuza, who turned into water.

"How can you tell which is which?" asked Naruto.

"With Zabuza's clones it's easy," said Keri. "Scent."

"You can tell which one's the real Zabuza?" asked Tenten.

"Not that I'm getting involved other than offering guidance to a clan member," added Keri, though she nodded.

"Can you also tell which one's Kakashi-sensei?" asked Naruto.

"Yes, though I expect that as I'm a member of his village - I'll tell him of the detail he's missing later," said Keri.

"Shadow clones are great, aren't they?" asked Naruto, figuring that was what Kakashi was doing.

"Both of them are burning through their chakra rapidly," said Keri. "Kakashi is more out of shape, while Zabuza's bandages have opened and he's bleeding."

"GAK!" said Haku, waking up and finding himself slimed and tied up.

"Who tied him up?" asked Keri.

"Uhm, me, Sasuke didn't want to touch him," said Naruto.

"He's covered in dragon-snot," pointed out Sasuke.

"ICK!" reacted Haku, not having heard that due to distance but coming to that conclusion anyway.

"Remind me to give you a few lessons on how to tie people up," said Keri as Haku leapt up and started running towards the battle.

"It ain't my fault," said Naruto-dragon and Naruto-clone simultaneously.

Tenten looked confused for a moment. _Why is the dragon apologizing for something for something his summoner did?_

"Excuse me," said the dragon, lining up and opening his mouth. A glow built up.

"HAKU!" said one of the Zabuza, rushing forward.

It was over fairly quickly once that happened.

Zabuza pulled Haku out of the way, so that the blast just went on to blow up a section of water. The only notable part of that was that a crocodile roughly ten feet long was briefly airborne and on fire.

At which point Zabuza Momochi had his worst idea ever.

There was a blur as Zabuza appeared behind the shrine priestess and whipped his blade around so that it was a hand-span from her neck. "All of you stop or I kill the old woman."

Kakashi stared for a moment, then pulled his headband down so it was covering his Sharingan eye. "Well, that's it."

"'Old woman'?" asked Keri.

"Quiet you," said Zabuza, despite certain combat instincts going to red-flags and alarm klaxons. "Everyone stand down."

"Zabuza Momochi, you were warned," said Keri, ignoring the blade and bringing one elbow up and then back hard.

_CRACK!_

Zabuza Momochi experienced a brief moment of extreme pain from his abdomen, then felt himself being lifted up off the ground. He was then reintroduced to the ground. Repeatedly.

Kakashi was immediately reminded of a young dog who had his first squeaky toy. Yeah, it was kind of like that. Except the puppy wouldn't normally be cratering the landscape like that. Or reducing trees to splinters by repeatedly tossing the squeaky toy through them.

Haku recovered enough to try throwing some ice javelin attack at her, and found his master approaching at roughly the speed of sound in reply.

"Do NOT involve me in your fights," said Keri over the two ninja sprawled out on the ground.

"I'll try to keep that in mind," croaked Haku before losing consciousness again.

"Ah, that feels better," said Keri, completely missing the way several ninja were now looking at her with some concern. Though Tenten's look was less concerned and more something else altogether. Envy perhaps.

* * *

><p>"They're tied securely in place," said Kakashi to the dragon. "Just try to keep the takeoff and landing gentle or we may lose them."<p>

"As tied up as they are?" asked Sakura.

"Uhm, no, not 'lose them' as in having them escape," said Kakashi. "More lose them as in they've got so many broken bones that a decent hit might kill them."

"Oh," said Sakura.

"Too bad we don't have a medic or something," said Naruto's shadow clone.

"Hnn," agreed Sasuke. Not much point in taking prisoners for interrogation if they were going to die from injuries.

* * *

><p>"Ugh, do your worst, you bastards," said Zabuza Momochi. "I'll never talk!"<p>

"That's nice, Momochi-san, but I'm just here to change the IV drip. Can I get you anything?"

Zabuza blinked and craned his neck to look at the teenage girl with the little bag of torture instruments. "Yeah, right. The restraints?"

"Because you picked a fight with Keri-san over at the Hiryu Shrine," said the nurse.

"Oh, that's right," said Zabuza as the memories began coming back. Memories of finding his new sword being taken away from him as someone repeatedly used HIM as a blunt trauma instrument against various targets. He immediately realized why he didn't want to remember any of that, and promptly switched to other subjects. "So... I've got a few broken bones or something?"

The nurse looked curious for a moment before she went to the clipboard at the bedside and consulted it. "We repaired the lung, your spleen, that section of intestine, and were able to set the majority of your broken bones."

"Bones as in plural?" asked Zabuza, wondering briefly if this was just some Konoha interrogation technique.

"Sir, you've got enough pain killer in you that you may not have noticed," said the nurse. "You've got a concussion, a broken nose, cracked skull, your right shoulder had five breaks... Wow. It looks like there's only four or five bones in the human body that she DIDN'T break."

"Ah, and so I don't feel any of this because I'm on painkillers?" asked Zabuza. "That would explain the odd floating sensation."

"Yes," said the nurse cheerfully. "Can I bring in some flowers now?"

"Who would be sending ME flowers?" asked Zabuza, trying to figure out why Konoha wouldn't interrogate the crap out of him. And if they already had all that information, why was he still breathing?

"Oh, from the Mizukage," said the nurse.

"...Yagura sent me flowers?" asked Zabuza.

"That'll be all, Rubi."

The nurse nodded and left, and a heavily scarred man entered Zabuza's field of vision.

"So, here's where the torture begins," said Zabuza with a chuckle.

"Not necessary," said the scarred man. "We already have all the information needed. You haven't been allied or even near any of the Hidden Villages in several years, and so you don't have any info on our most pressing concerns."

"That's an unusual way to begin an interrogation," said Zabuza. "What of Haku?"

"The Hyouton boy?" asked the scarred individual, pulling over a wooden chair so he could straddle it and regard Zabuza for a few moments of very uncomfortable silence. "He's fine. Not quite as injured as you. He's been very cooperative though as he doesn't have a particular reason not to be."

"Hmmm," hmmmed Zabuza thoughtfully. He supposed there wasn't.

"As to who the flowers are from, it is not Yagura who sent them. There is a new Mizukage."

"What?" asked Zabuza, now actually a little alarmed and surprised. "Someone killed Yagura?"

"We don't know the details," said Ibiki. "In any case, on our diplomatic contact that you were captured - the kill order was rescinded pending your good behavior. Your village wants you back alive."

That wasn't a particular comfort to Zabuza, who knew that Konoha tended to be soft and weak - but Kirigakure was neither and he could take a long time dying at their hands. "So you say."

"The current Mizukage is a 'Mei Terumi' - don't suppose you know her? Ah, from your reaction - I'd say that's a 'yes' that you ARE acquainted with her."

Zabuza had broken out in a cold sweat and was now wondering if he could spontaneously heal and leap from the bed now. "Mei's alive? She's Mizukage? She sent flowers? Oh... crap."

"Interesting," said the scarred man.

"I stood her up for a date," said Zabuza, craning his neck to try and look at where his arms and legs were restrained. "Things were moving too fast. She was too serious. A ninja isn't about..."

"We don't have a Tsunade level healer in the village now," said Ibiki. "Those broken bones are set and partially fused back together - but if you try to go running around you'll be on your back again in very short order."

Zabuza tried to think of anything he knew that he could use as a bargaining chip to avoid extradition.

* * *

><p>"Begin," said Gai, watching from the sidelines.<p>

Tenten was also watching from the sidelines. The trip back from Wave had been uneventful. Neji had gone off to his clan. Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno had gone their separate ways, but Lee had apparently been wanting to try his strength out against the physically strongest on Team Kakashi.

Which was what led to a spar between Rock Lee and Naruto Uzumaki.

The outcome was pretty obvious within the first exchange between the two. Lee was faster, a lot faster. However, his first full strength blow - which had been a kick to the back of Naruto's head - had only managed to stagger the blond.

Knowing the force that Lee could put into that kick, Tenten was mildly impressed.

Naruto, on the other hand, couldn't land an attack on Lee. Which indicated that Lee HAD noticed the amount of strength that Naruto casually displayed.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Now there were two other Naruto attacking Lee. Which ended with Lee dropping offense and concentrating on not getting hit. Who could blame him though?

"He's learned, he used to produce a dozen shadow clones at once," said Kakashi, not looking up from his book.

"He has that much chakra?" asked Gai. "Is it from -?"

"No, that was all him," said Kakashi.

Tenten didn't betray any sign of having heard that exchange, just filing it away mentally into her Clue folder.

"Needs some speed training," said Gai.

"True," admitted Kakashi.

"Just the basic Academy style?" asked Gai.

"True," admitted Kakashi as he turned another page in his book. Then giggled at something in there.

Tenten spared an odd look at the jonin, as bad as Gai could be about 'fires of youth' - he at least never giggled.

"All three of my youthful students have another style," noted Gai. "The Academy taijutsu style has a few holes in it."

"Oh?" asked Kakashi, sounding as if he hadn't noticed any such thing.

Gai let out a deep breath. "Kakashi, there are times that hip and cool attitude can be quite irritating."

"Says the 'fires of youth'," said Kakashi.

Gai shrugged ever so slightly before raising his voice to address the two fighters. "Lee! Naruto! Enough! The outcome of this match is obvious."

"Eh?" asked Lee.

"Uzumaki, your speed is terrible but that's partly because you are trying to control your newfound strength," summed up Gai.

"Oh, that obvious?" asked Naruto.

Tenten considered that. His strength was from a bloodline and it had recently awakened, so that made sense.

"Lee, on the other hand, couldn't do any lasting damage to you without considerably more effort," continued Gai.

"Yes, sensei," said Lee. "He is considerably harder to hurt than a training post."

Gai nodded. "Come along. If you are to attain Chunin, you will have to compete against Kakashi's team. Do not forget though that we are all comrades of the Leaf Village."

Tenten figured that this was one of Gai's less-obvious messages. Most of the time he was about as subtle as an oni-club. There were times he wasn't so thick. _So, a message about the Chunin Exams? How we will compete but maybe also cooperate against other teams? That might be it._

"Hmmm? Did you say something?" asked Kakashi.

"See you later, Kakashi," said Gai, turning and walking off. Lee immediately followed, but Tenten hesitated a moment.

_I haven't given up figuring out whatever it is about you, and what secrets you have, Naruto Uzumaki._ Tenten nodded at the blond, who feebly waved back, before walking at an increased pace to catch up with her team.

Author's notes: next up, Chunin Exams.

Originally my plans for this section would be that Naruto-dragon gets dosed with the dragonbane, and instead of a deadly reaction - would be imitating Pepe Le Pew on the person who smelled most strongly of the dragonbane. Leading to a chase scene over the lake and around the bridge. Keri spun a tale of how someone chosen as a mate by a dragon would be infused with draconic chakra, and would spontaneously gender swap to be compatible. Enough people over at the Anime Addventure found the idea squicky enough to not use that idea.

Despite that Naruto at his current age would just want to cuddle, and that Keri stated doubts about the accuracy of that information.

So... instead we go with the Sneeze That Roared.


	9. Chapter 9: Chunin Decision

**Spiral Dragon**

by Greylle

DISCLAIMER: Original series belong to someone else.  
>NOTE: We continue with the Wave Mission, there's a crossover here. Sort of, in that they're local area analogues of familiar characters, but if they show up again after this chapter it will be part of a crowd scene in the Chunin Exams if that.<p>

Spiral Dragon, part nine: Exam Prep

* * *

><p>Training was the priority. The Chunin Exams were not too far off, and Team 7 was going to apply!<p>

Kakashi had never really focussed on medical techniques, so Sakura went instead to the hospital. Naruto's Aunt Keri had given her that scroll of medical techniques, so the chance to practice the applied side of what she'd studied sounded like a place to start.

Sasuke was Sasuke. He wanted to be stronger. He went to Naruto's Aunt Keri.

"Ah, Sasuke Uchiha," said Keri, apparently in the process of showing Naruto something on some scrolls. "This is private training I'm afraid."

"He knows," said Naruto.

"Ah," said Keri. "Well in that case, Naruto - study the scroll. Humans learn to manipulate chakra externally, using hand signs. Dragons manipulate chakra most readily internally. Flight, dragonbreath, dragonfear, and so on - all from manipulating chakra internally."

Keri made a "follow me" gesture as she left the room. Sasuke followed, curious.

"You're looking for something to help you in this ninja test, I take it?" asked Keri.

"Yes," indicated Sasuke.

"So something that helps support your team," said Keri thoughtfully. "I gave Sakura a scroll on medical techniques - it seemed to suit her. You're more the 'assault the enemy directly' sort though."

Sasuke inclined his head. It was nice to interact with someone who actually figured things out.

"Let me try something," said Keri, staring into his eyes. Then her eyes abruptly shifted and he felt a tearing sensation.

* * *

><p>Tenten practiced her techniques, summoning and throwing weapons as rapidly as she could.<p>

Her accuracy was said to be "ten of ten" - that she'd hit ten targets with ten shots. Still, if her team had to compete against Team 7?

Sasuke Uchiha, from what she'd seen during the days they were in Wave, was pretty good with thrown weapons himself. Strong, fast, good reaction time. Other than that, nothing special other than being fairly good looking.

Sakura Haruno. Tenten tried to think of anything she'd seen the kunoichi do that stood out, gave any clues as to what special skills or jutsu the girl had available. She came up with a blank - indicating either the girl was very secretive or simply didn't have anything.

Naruto Uzumaki. Impressive strength, toughness, ability to summon a dragon. Yeah, that might be tough. She wanted to make friendly with the clan, as a new but talented clan with useful kekkei genkai could use allies - and those allies were likely to be rewarded down the road. The dragons provided high speed transport for insertions and retrievals, plus the strength and durability would assist in their surviving long enough to accrue battle experience.

Tenten retrieved her thrown weapons. _Maybe a drug or poison? It didn't work too well for that Haku kid though._

Tenten regarded one of her kunai as she lost herself in thought. She'd need a completely new approach.

"HOLD, peasant maiden for I-"

The manner and the words were enough annoyance that she tossed her kunai at the obvious idiot. He parried with a...

Tenten's thoughts derailed as she looked at the sword. A kodachi. A PINK kodachi. With gold floral motif along the blunt side. Being wielded by an idiot with a bird's nest hairstyle and wearing a dirty pseudo-samurai outfit.

"Cut that out, ill-mannered wench!" declared the boy. "I seeketh not conflict with thou! I seek vengeance upon the ill-mannered and loathsome Konoha Ninja Team Seven!"

Tenten blinked as she processed that. "So, you're infiltrating a ninja village, announcing you are out to attack some ninjas of that village, insulting people as you go - and you're carrying a pink sword while doing that."

The youth was about to reply, thought a moment, then nodded. "Indeed. Crassly put, yet mostly accurate. Merely point the way, and I - Alain the Blue Thunder of Jashin shall at last have vengeance!"

Tenten smiled. At the very least this might give her more intel. "Sure. This way."

Let him walk there, and then she could put a kunai in a few nerve clusters and turn this 'assassin' over to the ANBU. Besides, she was sure there was a story involved in this.

* * *

><p>"I don't get it," said Naruto, having ditched studying (Iruka would only be surprised in how long Naruto had lasted) after an hour.<p>

Keri massaged one temple with her hand.

Sasuke was stricken with how Keri was EXACTLY copying something he'd seen Iruka-sensei do after explaining something to Naruto down to the expression. Though, come to think of it, hadn't Kakashi done that a few times too? And... okay, maybe it was more something about Naruto.

"Long term genjutsu operant conditioning is very similar to a curse because it's applied through magical compulsion, leaving trace elements that reinforce the effects," explained Keri. "I simply used my abilities as a shrine priestess to unravel the jutsu."

Naruto blinked.

"She unlocked my Sharingan," said Sasuke, turning his eyes red with a black tomoe.

"Oh, like Kakashi-sensei," said Naruto. "Cool. Will that make you any less annoying?"

Sasuke turned his Sharingan off. "I better not use it around you. I might accidently copy some idiocy."

"You two knock it off," said Keri, affectionately cuffing Naruto in the head with enough force a civilian's head would have exploded. Of course, it being Naruto meant he was just jostled a bit. "Sasuke, I don't know what other effects this will have. I advise you to take it easy with that and gradually ease into its use. Also, there may be other effects. See me if any side-effects occur."

"What should I keep an eye out for?" asked Sasuke.

"Demonic possession, secondary genjutsu or programmed reflexes, maniacal laughter and crazed vengeance quests, just anything unusual," answered Keri.

"AT LAST! I HAVE FOUND THEE! VENGEANCE IS MINE AT LAST!"

Sasuke, Naruto, and Keri all looked down the stairs at the charging swordsman.

"Isn't that-" began Sasuke.

"Isn't he dead? Twice?" asked Naruto.

"A magic pink kodachi?" asked Keri.

Tenten, behind the swordsman, casually threw a kunai through his knee.

"That sword's magic?" asked Sasuke. "Naruto, do NOT destroy this one. Even if it IS pink."

"I fight on!" declared Alain, limping forward.

"How can you tell it's magic?" asked Naruto.

"Ever see anything glow when your eyes aren't directly focussed on it? That's how," said Keri.

"Vengeance will be mine!" declared the limping swordsman.

Tenten helpfully threw a kunai into the other knee.

"Such measures will not stop the Justice of almighty Jashin!" declared Alain, crawling forward.

"Hey you!" said Naruto with a raised voice. "Haven't we killed you already?"

"I cannot die, fool! Jashin is the god of murder, and I will recover from any injury!" declared Alain.

"Oh, he's got an immortality curse," said Keri.

"You going to remove it?" asked Sasuke.

"No, as near as I can tell this is one of those personal grudge and ninja vengeance issues," said Keri thoughtfully. "I'm not supposed to get involved in those unless he attacks ME."

"Fear not, fair maiden," said Alain, struggling up the stairs. "I shall not-"

Tenten walked up, gave a sharp kick to one of Alain's elbows, then took the sword away when his arm spasmed and he dropped it.

"Your crass commoner ways shall not defeat me!" said Alain, still struggling forward.

"You can't die, right?" asked Sasuke.

"Nay! Jashin's blessing doth protect me!"

Tenten walked up to the other Konoha citizens, examining the blade as she went. "Good balance, nice edge. Odd metal though. I thought this was enamel but the metal's actually pink. And then there's this gold fillagree."

"You want this one, Sasuke?" asked Naruto. "It's kinda glowy."

"'Glowy'?" asked Tenten.

"Magic," said Keri.

"It's not cursed is it?" asked Tenten, handing it over to the priestess. If it was a curse of stupidity though, she was... going to keep it around and make sure her opponent in the Exams got it.

Keri took the sword, considered it briefly, then shook her head. "No. There's an imprint of personality on it though. If a woman wields the sword, she'll learn the arts of handling it all the faster and to a greater degree. A samurai woman wielded this weapon, which was ordered made for her as an insult but the swordmaker took insult that he would be ordered to forge an inferior blade. He crafted the sword so that it looked as the orderer had wanted, but was of superior make. Now it will leave the hand of any male who wields it, but a woman can learn the samurai arts all the better."

"Oh?" asked Tenten. She already knew the basics of wielding a sword, but something that made her more proficient at her craft.

"Give me back mine sword so that I may wield it properly against these foes!" declared Alain.

"I can't get involved," said Keri, handing the blade back to Tenten and then turning and walking away. "I'd suggest letting the ANBU take him outside the village."

"What ANBU?" asked Tenten.

Several shapes materialized nearby.

"Oh, them," said Tenten.

"Just curious to see how you'd deal with it," said one with a sort of cat-mask.

"So who gets the sword?" asked Sasuke. "He came after us, so I should get it."

"Despite being a pink girly sword?" asked Naruto. If Sasuke took that sword, Naruto considered that he'd have to un-rival Sasuke. Having your rival lug that sucker out would damage your own credibility. "I think Sakura should get it. She could use something in the Exam."

Keri stopped next to a large stone lantern, reached out, grabbed someone by the collar, and pulled her out into full sight.

"Eeep!" said Hinata.

"But it's my sword," said Alain as he was hauled away by the ANBU.

* * *

><p>"Huh, so why are you here, Hinata?" asked Naruto, remembering the scene the dragon had shown him. How long ago had that been anyway? So much of his life had changed since then!<p>

"I was coming to see your Aunt, actually," said Hinata, pushing her forefingers together and looking away from Naruto.

"Really? You want a good luck charm for the exams?" asked Keri.

"Well, I was copying scrolls..." said Hinata, her voice dropping in volume to a mumble.

"What was that?" asked Naruto.

"You ran across THAT scroll while cleaning?" asked Keri. "One thing at a time child. First you kids should decide what to do about the sword."

"Rock paper scissors?" asked Naruto.

"Do we need that? I mean, you heard your Aunt - the sword will reject men using it," pointed out Tenten.

"No problem," said Naruto, picking the blade up from the rain barrel it had been propped against. "Oiroke No Jutsu!"

"Not THAT again," grumbled Sasuke.

"Why not?" asked Naruto, now a mostly unclothed girl. "Now I'm a girl so I can learn amazing sword techniques, right?"

The sword quivered and then slammed its blunt end into his face._WHAM!_

"The blade seems to have awakened. Magic swords are not usually something easily fooled," stated Keri.

"See these? Real girl, right?" asked Naruto.

_WHAM WHAM WHACKITY WHAM!_

"I think that it thinks you are being insulting," stated Sasuke.

"So, with that established there are three girls on the shrine grounds at the moment who could benefit from such a thing," said Keri. "Tenten, Hinata, and Naruko."

"Oh, I'd forgotten about her," said Naruto.

"How could you forget about her?" asked Sasuke.

"Hey, there's been a lot going on lately!" protested Naruto.

"Oh hell," said Sasuke. "I just realized. I had my Sharingan going when you did that jutsu. And you've still got it going despite being hit repeatedly."

"Eh?" asked Naruto, looking down at himself and realizing he was still a HERself. "AUGH!"

Keri reached out and smacked Naruto on the back of the head. When he came up again it was as a guy.

"Maybe you shouldn't use that one anymore," suggested Keri. "Get stuck too long like that and it might become permanent."

"AUGH!" repeated Naruto.

"So what was it you were after?" asked Sasuke of Hinata.

"There was something in a scroll that I could help Naruto with..." said Hinata, her voice getting fainter as she spoke.

"Oh?" asked Naruto.

* * *

><p>"So, it's an immortality jutsu," said Ibiki. "Along the line of a fuuinjutsu. As long as he continues to sacrifice to this 'Jashin' the jutsu is active."<p>

"What information do we have on this cult of Jashin?" asked Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Not much, yet," said Ibiki Morino. "The Yamanaka we have working on this states that access to this mind is not particularly difficult, but is sufficiently repugnant that even he is having difficulty going in for very long."

That drew a raised eyebrow from the Hokage. Considering what most missing-nin were like, this swordsman must be exceptionally a problem.

"He's sufficiently delusional, and sufficiently convinced of his delusions, that many methods of investigation are closed to us," said Ibiki. "We may have to use IT."

"If you feel that there are things that swordsman knows that we need to know, such is authorized," said the Hokage. "He came into the village announcing his intention to attack ninja of the Leaf."

Ibiki nodded and made a gesture to an assistant. It looked like it would be necessary to get the plushies out.

* * *

><p>Naruko held a fist out.<p>

Hinata held a hand out, flat.

Tenten held out two fingers.

Sasuke held out a flat hand.

"Another tie?" asked Naruto.

Keri turned back around, this time with a set of chopsticks in one hand. "Try this method instead. Hinata, if you turn on your Byakugan - or Sasuke his Sharingan - you automatically lose."

There was a moment of tension in the air as each chose one of the chopsticks, ending when Naruko's chopstick proved to have a red tip.

"So, I'm going to be a samurai priestess?" asked Naruko. "This is getting completely bizarre."

"It's only now getting completely bizarre?" asked Sasuke.

"So what kind of ceremony were you looking into?" asked Tenten of Hinata.

"Erm, uhm," said Hinata, tapping forefingers together and looking like she wanted to vanish from sight.

"It's a ceremony where someone enters into a formal relation with our clan," said Keri. "It's a fortification jutsu that would increase her strength, chakra reserves, and resistance to injury. There's a temporary version for trying out such alliances, but Naruto is still a bit young for such things."

"Well, uhm, it's just that..." Hinata swayed on her feet before catching herself. "He'll need to practice that, right?"

"What was that?" asked Sasuke. "You do realize that you were whispering that last bit, right?"

"I heard her," said Tenten, sounding thoughtful. "A jutsu for clan retainers and allies huh? Damn, now I'm sorry I'm going to be competing against you guys."

"That's right," said Sasuke, picking up on that. "Team 8 is going to be competing against us too."

"Oh, sorry Hinata," said Naruto. "I guess I ought to try practicing that jutsu after the Exam though. Sounds like it could be useful."

Keri shook her head. _Well, nobody says that they __have__ to mate afterwards. That's just what the jutsu was designed for - so that the shapeshifted dragon and a human mate didn't end up with the former accidently squishing the latter. Oh well. Naruto's still a few years away from that._

"Oh," said the clearly disappointed Hinata.

Naruto saw that disappointment and made a mental note to study up on this jutsu. He'd seen that future version of her after all, and if he could use some jutsu to give her a temporary bump in strength - that would be a good thing wouldn't it?

* * *

><p>Just holding the sword felt kind of odd. Not necessarily a bad odd, just odd.<p>

Aunt Keristrasza had gone to the room with all those scrolls, plucked one out, and just handed it off to her as something else to practice.

Though it was apparent that Aunt Keri had many skills, handling a sword was not one of those.

Naruko Uzumaki was still trying to get a handle on many things right now, so jumping into a new style of training was actually a good thing.

There were some sword-wielding ninja, but she wasn't automatically a ninja herself was she? She just remembered being Naruto for the past twelve years but now had to be something different. She didn't know anything about samurai, who were the ones normally associated with swords.

_There are seven virtues of the samurai. Rectitude, Courage, Benevolence, Respect, Honesty, Honor, and Loyalty._

Naruko nodded to herself. Yeah. That made sense. Samurai was completely different from ninja in some respects, in other respects they were the same. Ninja also valued honor and loyalty, courage and - what was rectitude anyway?

Though if one were to go by 'seven virtues' of a ninja, wouldn't sneakiness and trickery be on the list?

Naruko shook her head, then concentrated on practicing the basic strikes. She was going to be her own person, and this was another step on that path.

* * *

><p>Naruko put the sword back in the sheath and stowed it away. It had been several hours of pratice, trying to get the hang of this iaido stuff.<p>

This _tachi-ai_ thing was difficult but the _iai-goshi_ looked LOTS worse.

Could be worse though, she hadn't done a quick draw that ended with the sword flipping through the air in... oh an hour at the least!

Walking through the village with a sword was different. Having to keep it from thwacking into things. The scroll mentioned that though. You had to keep the sword with you all the time while training, so that you got used to it. It became an extension of your presence or somesuch.

So she had the sword and...

Naruko paused, went over to a bush, and leaned over it. "Look, Hinata, even if you're practicing your stealth skills it's kinda creepy."

The bush shook.

"I don't know why you are having all this trouble, it's quite obvious you want to talk to... my brother," said Naruko. "But if you don't come out of there now I'm gonna have to thwack you."

"How dare you mistake me for that weakling!"

Naruko considered that, considered the different voice, and decided to do the obvious. _THWACK!_

"Yowch!" yelled a little girl with Hyuga eyes as she leapt up out of the bush, holding her head. "HEY! You thwacked me on the head!"

"Okay, I don't know you," said Naruko.

"That doesn't give you the right to hit me," protested the little girl.

"No, but you hiding and spying on the Hiryu Shrine does," said Naruko, making sure the sheath-clip was in place. "Yah!"

The little girl's eyes got bigger somehow and she turned and ran, just ahead of another set of sword strikes. "AHHH!"

Naruko smirked. This would be fun.

* * *

><p>"Sakura? If you're looking for Naruto or Sasuke - they're training elsewhere." Keri put aside the broom to greet the genin.<p>

"I've finished the simple exercises in this scroll," said Sakura. "I was hoping you had something more advanced."

"Hmmm, how are you for genjutsu?" asked Keri.

"Well, I've been told I'm a genjutsu type but I hardly know more than the basics," noted Sakura.

"I'd heard the same thing," said Keri. "There was a technique I'd run across."

"Oh?" asked Sakura, following the priestess into a storeroom and watching as she went to the wooden latticework where a large number of scrolls had been filed.

"Yes, this is the one," said Keri, opening it and unfurling it partway with a snap of one wrist.

"I'm not sure about this," said Sakura as she quickly went through the beginning of the technique.

"Well, it's another option available to you," noted Keri. "Now, if you feel you are ready for the next step in the medical jutsu?"

* * *

><p>"EEP!" yelped Hanabi Hyuga as her Byakugan detected the scabbarded sword being thrust at the back of her head. Naturally, she dodged and ducked and rolled. Mostly though, she ran.<p>

If her sister were trying to get some sort of improvement that would show up in future spars - Hanabi had the right to know about it! Hinata had been acting furtive for a few days, and had snuck away to the shrine. Obviously she was looking for something to improve her pathetic performance.

Unfortunately, the girl behind her kept catching up. _Well, this will get her. I'll duck through here, climb under that, and then lose her in that crowd!_

With a burst of speed, Hanabi ducked into a narrow alleyway, went underneath a gap in the fence, then ran through the crowd, checking behind her once to make sure the miko wasn't gaining on her.

Even with the Byakugan, running forward and looking backwards can be awkward.

_WHAM!_

"This is why I hate kids!" said a boy, reaching down and picking Hanabi up by the back of her shirt. "Give me one reason I shouldn't just kill the rugrat."

_SCHING!_

"Because she's a citizen of Konohagakure, and she's going to apologize nicely for running into you?"

"Hey, you, drop the sword before I get angry," said the boy, apparently unconcerned about a sword being within inches of his neck.

"Kankuro," said the girl with the Sand headband.

"She's a Hyuga, which is a pretty influential bunch of kegholes," said Naruko.

"Who said I'm going to apologize?!" yelled the little girl.

"I did, or I'll put the sword back in the scabbard and spank you with it," said Naruko.

"You wouldn't dare!"

_CHINK!_ went the sword back into the scabbard.

"Pardon me," said Naruko breaking the shinobi's grip and finding a place to sit down.

Kankuro's eyes were slightly wider than normal as he watched the girl break his grip and carry the rugrat as if she weighed hardly anything at all. He was also watching with a certain degree of amusement.

"You... you would dare wouldn't you?" said the little girl in a now very little voice.

"Yup," said Naruko.

"I'm very sorry for running into you," said the little girl. "It was entirely HER fault."

"It was?" asked Kankuro, who at this point was more amused than anything else. "So whatcha gonna do about that?"

"You're from Sand Village right?" asked Naruko, having set down Hanabi but still obviously considering the possibility of a spanking. _Let's see. How would Sakura handle this? Probably try to be friendly and pump them for information, right? Yeah._

"Oh, did our headbands give it away?" asked Kankuro.

"Well, I'm Naruko Uzumaki, miko of the Hiryu Shrine," said Naruko. "How about I treat you to dinner, since you're probably new in town and hungry?"

"Do you... are you asking me out?" asked Kankuro, who'd gone from amused to astonished at this point. He WAS a teenaged boy, ninja status to the side, and having a pretty girl ask him to dinner was taking his prepared script and throwing it completely away.

The Sand girl smirked. "Sure. We could all use a little something before we report in."

The smile slipped a bit at the thought of what this would do to her current budget, but Naruko rallied. _I'll find out what's going on and delay 'em. That way if ANBU is looking for 'em they can't melt away in the shadows._ "Uhm. Okay, sure."

"One thing though," pointed out Temari. "That little Hyuga girl just escaped."

"I'll catch her later," said Naruko, a promise in the tone of her voice indicating possible violence.

"If your flirting makes us late, I'll kill you," said a voice from the shadow of a tree. A tendril of sand shot forward.

She moved automatically, her sword a pink blur that almost immediately clicked back into place in the scabbard.

Gaara looked down at where the tendril of sand had been severed and was slow in returning to him. He looked puzzled as something was clearly not right here.

Kankuro, on the other hand, was quick to wipe the smile off his face. He was beginning to like this place.

* * *

><p>A tendril of sand stabbed towards the noisy blonde girl. There was a noise like <em>schnikt<em> and a brief _whoosh_ followed by a _clik_.

The tendril of sand limped slowly back towards Gaara as he considered this.

Three times he'd attempted to stab either Kankuro or the girl. Each time she drew her sword, intercepted the attack, and put her sword back into place. More, she was faster each time she did it.

This was oddly intriguing.

And this porkbone ramen was oddly satisfying and quite tasty. Both factors were serving to keep him a little off-balance from his usual mode.

* * *

><p>Temari's eyes didn't miss a thing. Most Sand kunoichi were trained as infiltrators after all, though it would be a rare instance when someone with her abilities and personality were put on such a mission. Trying to act demure and ladylike just did NOT come across as anything other than an act when it came to Temari of the Sand.<p>

She saw three attempts by Gaara to interrupt the Leaf "miko" whose sword was drawn, slashed, and then returned to its scabbard in maybe two seconds tops. She improved her speed and form also, flowing like water - like a wave at the beach.

If she wasn't a ninja of the Leaf, then the Leaf was indeed composed of idiots. The girl had strength and speed beyond what many Sand genin were capable of, plus some sword techniques. Her clumsiness sitting down with the sword was obviously just a feint on her part.

The fact that her sword was pink was something that caused Temari to downgrade her opinion on the girl, but perhaps that was to cause opponents to underestimate her?

She'd have to check out this 'Hiryu Shrine' later. It hadn't been in the intel briefing, so it might be important.

* * *

><p>Hanabi was intrigued. She was very low on chakra at the moment, but Unknown Violent Girl was clearly formidable.<p>

And clearly there was something going on at that shrine, the strength of its defense was clear indication of that.

She'd have to be cautious, but further investigation was clearly called for.

Preferably when she was not low on chakra, and far away from that blonde berserker.

* * *

><p>Sakura flipped a stone out from her perch on the bridge, watching the projectile skip across the water before disappearing.<p>

_Am I really ready for this?_ Sakura let out a deep breath as she went over the concept in her head. _The Chunin Exams already, and we've only been genin for a few months._

Another stone went out, rings from one impact intersecting the rings from the last stone-skipping. _Sasuke is ready. Naruto has his new strength and dragon summoning. They're ready. Am I ready? Making chunin would mean increased danger and time away from the village. No more helping Mom out around the house or at work. No more meeting with people I know. Chunin also get some of the missions that are more dangerous but require things like killing people or infiltration missions. Sure, I did okay infiltrating that beauty pageant and nobody suspected me - but if I'd been caught there nobody would really have cared either. Infiltrating a bandit camp, foreign village, or noble's estate - that could turn out a bit worse than being thrown out of a beauty contest._

Sakura watched the ripples, adding another stone from the small pile she'd gathered until they were all gone. Finally, as the last ripple faded on the mostly-still water, she decided.

Research.


	10. Chapter 10: Chunin Exam Arc, test 1

**Spiral Dragon**

by Greylle

DISCLAIMER: Original series belong to someone else.  
>NOTE: We continue with the Wave Mission, there's a crossover here. Sort of, in that they're local area analogues of familiar characters, but if they show up again after this chapter it will be part of a crowd scene in the Chunin Exams if that.<p>

Spiral Dragon, part ten: Examining a dragon

* * *

><p>Sakura went to the library, checked records of the last three Chunin Exams that had occurred in Konohagakure, then found a name she'd seen on a shop not too far from her house.<p>

"Hello?" asked Sakura, entering the tailor's shop.

"Ah, a customer, just in time too. I was going to close up for the night," said the tailor, stopping some embroidery in order to focus on the newcomer. "That hair... you're not-"

"I'm a Haruno, but not of THAT family of Haruno," supplied Sakura, guessing what that reaction was about.

"Oh good," said the relieved tailor. "So what can I help you with?"

"You were in the last Chunin Exam, then you dropped out of the ninja program entirely," said Sakura. "I spotted your name as a participant. I figured that since you dropped out of the program, you'd be free to give some details."

"Ah, researching before the battle?" The tailor beamed at her. "Good for you. Decent intel usually improves your odds of survival."

"'Survival'?" asked Sakura, already feeling some nervousness return.

"Just a moment," said the tailor, reaching around and grabbing something nearby. Then he came around the end of counter and started heading for a door on the side. "Just a moment, I'll get some tea. I must say it's nice to see not all young ninja are as battle hungry as my team was."

Sakura tried not to twitch as the slightly older ex-ninja went past on a crutch. Quite obviously one leg was mostly missing. "Nuime-san, did that -?"

"Yes, child, it was in the Chunin Exams," said Nuime, managing to carry a teaset on a tray while hobbling back to the counter. "We managed to get through the first part, but the second part is where I lost my team and got a bit mangled."

"'Mangled'?" asked Sakura.

"Oh yes," said Nuime, setting things out. "Each section of the exams is to weed out those not ready for it. I've gone through four, so I've noticed similarities. The first part is usually a straight up test of some kind. Nothing fatal. The second part is where the deaths normally occur, because you're being put into a hostile environment and other teams from other villages will be actively trying to kill you."

"Oh," said Sakura. "Well, I'm pretty sure we're ready."

"That's not good enough," said Nuime. "Our village stresses teamwork and trickiness, and the bloodlines of course. Not that it did Hajime any good."

"One of your team?" guessed Sakura.

"Yup, Hajime got ate." Nuime brought forearms together and then jabbed out while closing curled fingers to suggest something taking a bite. "Giant centipede, bigger than an adult human and poisonous as hell."

"Oh," said Sakura.

"So, what's your strategy?" asked Nuime. "You know the betting is pretty fierce on the results of the exam. Any inside info you can give me?"

* * *

><p>"So, are we ready?" asked Naruto in the early morning at the test center. "I am PUMPED!"<p>

"Just don't smash anything fragile," advised Sasuke. "You know, furniture, people, buildings..."

Naruto's eyes went wide. "Sasuke? You... made a joke?"

Sasuke's smirk vanished and was replaced with a frown. Had he gotten infected?

"Well, we're gonna kick major butt anyway," said Naruto, slamming fist into cupped hand.

Sasuke gave a thoughtful look at that, then nodded. This was an important milestone on his path, was it not? Since it was - major buttkicking was on the schedule.

"There's Sakura," said Naruto. "She looks kinda nervous for some reason."

* * *

><p>"Hiryu Shrine, eh?" asked Temari. "Don't look like much."<p>

"This is where that shrine maiden lives, huh?" asked Kankuro. "I think she's fallen for my manly charms."

"What manly charms?" automatically responded Temari, not even looking back as she climbed the steps.

"Man, it doesn't look like anything special though," said Kankuro as he trailed behind Temari. "You seen one of these, you've seen 'em all."

"Mother is very agitated," said Gaara abruptly. "Something here. Something dangerous."

"Something... waitaminute, you're saying IT is scared?" asked Temari, her manner indicating the level of disbelief on this was approaching maximum.

"Oh, does that mean you don't want to check your fortune before the exam?" asked a voice directly behind them.

There was a brief girlish scream. Kankuro would forever deny having made it.

By the second syllable, Gaara had summoned up a wave of sand. Temari had spun, pulled her fan out, and held it in a blocking position. Followed by both of them staring at Kankuro for a moment.

Temari dragged her gaze off of Kankuro, though noting that he was going to be hearing about this for quite some time. She instead focussed on the shrine priestess.

Naturally, she made note of details quickly. The woman wore exactly what one would expect of a shrine priestess, even to the point of carrying one of those sticks with the paper streamers stuck to one end. Red hair. No obvious weapons other than the stick. Despite facing three prepared-for-violence foreign nin, she showed absolutely no sign of being nervous.

"What are you?" asked Gaara, being the direct sort of individual he was.

"Head priestess of Hiryu Shrine," said the woman. "If you don't want your fortunes, what about a lucky charm? I've got one for Exam Success."

"We're ninja, we make our own luck," said Temari. "Okay, we were just curious about this place. Met some shrine maiden named 'Naruko'?"

"Yes, she's apprenticed here," agreed the woman. "I am Keri, her teacher. She's currently working on her meditation."

"Oh well, sorry we missed her," lied Temari. "We need to get back to the testing center. Don't want to be late."

"Of course," agreed Keri as she watched the three genin walk off again. Odd, the red headed boy with the gourd smelled like a raccoon or something.

* * *

><p>"Really, there's no reason for me to attend too," said Sakura. "Kakashi-sensei said it was an individual decision."<p>

"Yeah, but, well, we're a team," said Naruto uncertainly.

"Hmph," indicated Sasuke. "Naruto. We better get in there then."

Naruto hesitated as Sasuke walked away, looking between him and Sakura.

"You better get going," advised Sakura.

With a last look back, Naruto went after Sasuke.

Sakura let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding after Naruto disappeared. "Besides, this way I can research things and maybe feed them information."

* * *

><p>"Waitaminute Sasuke," said Naruto. "I got an idea."<p>

"Another lame idea?" asked Sasuke, who nonetheless DID stop.

"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu," used Naruto, making a single copy of himself.

"Henge," said the second Naruto.

Sasuke blinked and looked at the Sakura-copy. "Why?"

"Sakura could change her mind later," said Naruto. "This way she doesn't get immediately disqualified."

Sasuke shook his head. "The moment someone speaks to your copy, they're going to know this isn't Sakura."

"Oh, good point," said Naruto. "Maybe have to act like she's got a headache or something?"

"Whatever, let's just get going," said Sasuke. "When someone detects the fake or figures out this isn't Sakura, they'll just dispel it."

"You really think this won't work?" asked copy-Sakura. "If it doesn't work, we can just explain we were trying to accomplish the mission in a suitably ninja manner."

"By being clever, sneaky, and tricky," said Naruto, snapping his fingers. "That might work."

Sasuke considered that, nodded once, then turned and proceeded further into the building.

Naruto hesitated for a moment, thinking there was something he'd forgotten. Still, he had other concerns at the moment, didn't he?

* * *

><p>Kakashi Hatake saw the three coming down the hallway and raised an eyebrow. "Sakura?"<p>

"Yes?" asked Sakura, looking a little nervous.

"So you decided to take the exam after all?" asked Kakashi.

"Of course!" said Naruto.

"Hnnn," hnnned Sasuke.

"Uh huh," said Kakashi. "You two go ahead. I want to speak to Sakura for a moment."

"Uhmmmm, we shouldn't separate, should we Sasuke?" asked Sakura. "This test is sort of like a mission, right?"

"Who cares?" asked Sasuke, shaking his head and going in.

"Uhm," said Naruto.

"Go on ahead, Naruto," said Kakashi. "Unless you want to tell me something?"

"No! Not at all!" said Naruto, going past Kakashi into the room after giving a last nervous look at Sakura.

"Did they really expect this to fool me?" asked Kakashi.

"Fool you?" asked Sakura, twiddling her fingers.

Kakashi took a toothpick out of his pocket, held it between two fingers for a moment, then flicked it at very high speeds at Sakura.

"OUCH! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"

Kakashi blinked as Sakura pulled a toothpick out of her arm. "Uhhh."

"What if this gets infected or something?" asked Sakura, reaching into a pouch and pulling out a stiptic pencil.

"Uhm, never mind, I thought you were a transformed shadow clone... but Naruto knows better than to try that. Well, I would HOPE that was the case since the last time he tried that he got a sister out of the deal," said Kakashi, turning away from the girl. He paused and drew an envelope out, then tossed it over his shoulder to her as he walked away. "Troublesome."

Sakura picked it up, then let out a deep breath. _Okay, got to get through whatever this test is and dispel before I convince myself I'm the original Sakura or something._

* * *

><p>Sakura stuck her head in the door, shifting the books she'd gotten under her arm to do so. "Sir?"<p>

"Oh, you're here, so 'Team 7' won't participate?" asked the tailor. "I better change my bet."

"Uhm, no. Kakashi-sensei said that we had to individually decide to take the test or not," said Sakura.

"But the whole team has to take the test," said the tailor. "If you don't take it as a team, you automatically fail. Unless the test was in Mist or Cloud. I think they do it a bit differently."

"What?" asked Sakura.

"Right, so tell me - who do you think is going to win?" asked the tailor.

The door banged shut.

"I swear, young people these days have no manners at all," said Nuime the tailor.

* * *

><p><em>KA-GLOMP!<em>

"Well, this is familiar. And annoying. Get off, Ino."

"Sasuke-kun! It's been so long!"

Sasuke glowered quite a bit, having a blond kunoichi draping herself on him.

"Troublesome," said Shikamaru as he sauntered up alongside Choji. "You guys are in too?"

"You could say that," said Sasuke, just before Sakura began gently peeling Ino off of him.

"What? HEY! MY ARM DOESN'T BEND THAT WAY! STOP IT! OW! OUCH!"

"You guys might want to keep it down," said a glasses-wearing genin as he stepped close and noting that the pink-haired kunoichi was about to dislocate at least two of the joints of the ponytailed blonde. And was moving towards a large trashcan. "And you might want to stop that. The test givers might not understand why you stuffed one of your competitors into a trashcan."

"Oh right," said Sakura. "I suppose it IS bad manners."

"Damn it Sakura, when did you get so freakishly strong?" asked Ino, rubbing at sore spots.

"I am now a kunoichi of the Leaf Village," said Sakura clearly and distinctly. "Training constantly to improve and address any weaknesses just goes with the job."

"Well, I've been training too!" declared her rival, pointing and posing dramatically. "Next time you won't catch me unawares."

"So you guys made it too, but what's with Sakura being so strong now?" asked Kiba as he arrived with his team in tow.

"Th-that's the strength-sharing jutsu of Naruto's clan, isn't it?" asked Hinata, looking at Naruto and twiddling her fingers.

"Strength-sharing jutsu?" asked Kiba.

"Hah!" declared Ino. "So it IS some trick. I knew you couldn't have gotten that much stronger, forehead!"

At which point Sasuke noticed Naruto spreading his arms wide, preparing to slam his hands together. At which point Sasuke covered his ears because he had a clue what was about to happen.

Naruto brought his hands together, clapping to get the attention of the two kunoichi. Or one kunoichi and a masquerading shadow clone.

_BOOOOOM!_

Windows rattled and cracked. Ceiling tiles shook and released sprays of dust. Outside, buildings lost pieces of brick. A crack spread across several of the floor tiles. Several nearby ninja were bowled over. Sakura fell over onto Ino, ending up with her face on Ino's breasts where a momentary spurt of blood from a nosebleed marred the impact point. Ino failed to notice due to the amount of pain in her ears.

Then it was over, Naruto putting his arms down and looking around in amazement.

Sasuke straightened up and took his hands away from his ears. "Idiot."

"It worked, didn't it?" asked Naruto. _Whoa. New technique. What should I call it though?_

"Troublesome," said Shikamaru, who'd noticed Sasuke reacting and had done the same without necessarily knowing why. "I see the rumors about Naruto having a kekkei genkai are true."

"What?!" asked a number of ninja in the room. Half of whom were ready to kill Naruto for doing that, almost half of whom were wary of the ninja who HAD done that and wondering what other jutsu he might have, and a few who were wondering if they should go find a medic.

Kabuto looked at the crack in his glasses, then at Naruto, then began rummaging around in his pack for a spare pair of glasses. This was not moving according to his plan, but now he had direct evidence that the greatest moron in the village apparently also had some enormous strength.

* * *

><p>Kakashi went over the results, sitting in the Jonin Lounge at the Hokage Tower. Sakura was thin, very much so for an active genin. She had a somewhat noticeable forehead mainly because of her hairline being a bit higher than was usual. She typically wore a kunai pouch on her upper thigh - which really wasn't the best place for it and he'd told her so in the past.<p>

The Sakura who had been at the Exam looked different and, when he'd used the toothpick test he'd gotten a whiff of her, smelled different. Her hair had been at least an inch longer, her frame not quite so thin but showing some muscle development, was at least a quarter-inch shorter, and she'd been more nervous than usual around him.

That last could be put off as going into a potentially dangerous situation. Things like the height were more difficult to pull off.

So, that was not Sakura Haruno. Most likely it was one of Naruto's enhanced shadow clones. He'd remarked about it before leaving specifically to remind Naruto that he had to dispel that soon or risk having a second Sakura running around.

Actually, he had to give the team a point for being sneaky. It WAS a ninja test after all.

"Who's that? I thought your team was already in the test," said Kurenai, looking across the street.

"Oh, so that's it," said Kakashi with a nod as he noticed Sakura running down the street with a large pile of books.

"What's what?" asked Gai.

"I saw a fake Sakura going into the test, and thought they were being sneaky," said Kakashi. "Now I know what the plan is. They must have uncovered something of the first test's nature and are now planning on cheating."

"Well," said Kurenai, turning back to her drink. "That IS the aim of the first test."

"We'll see if they get away with it," said Kakashi with a shrug. "Certainly can't fault them for trying."

"How youthful!" approved Gai.

"NOW I'm experiencing some concern," mused Kakashi.

* * *

><p>"Is there anyone who STILL can't hear me?" asked Ibiki. "If so, leave now and seek medical attention. If you were incapacitated by a single technique from a new genin, then you aren't ready for this exam."<p>

"What?!" asked someone in the back.

Ibiki glanced at a proctor, then inclined his head. The proctor showed the team in question out of the facility. With the occasional "what" and "why" and "this isn't fair" being heard by those who didn't have a ringing noise going off in their heads. Those bleeding from the ears were already gone.

"Fine," said Ibiki, heartened a bit by all the empty chairs. "On the written test, there will be ten questions..."

"A written test?!" yelped one of the genin.

"I said 'no questions'!" said Ibiki firmly.

"More of a complaint than a question," complained that genin.

"Well then, no complaints either," said Ibiki, giving a death-glare to the boy. Who apparently shrugged it off. Amusing.

* * *

><p>Sakura climbed the tree, lugging along the books with her as there had literally been no chance to drop them off someplace safe.<p>

_Okay. There's the testing room. I can see Naruto from here. They're... it's a written test? Well, Naruto's doomed. He's always sucked at tests. Sasuke will pass for sure. Let's see. Why is the glass all cracked everywhere?_

Sakura got her hand-mirror out and prepared to signal Sasuke when she noticed that she was already in the room.

_What the - ?! Why am I there? How am I there? Why do I look so good?_

Sakura calmed herself after the moment of startlement. _Okay. It must be one of Naruto's shadow clones, using a henge to look like me. Except he got some details wrong, pretty typical for Naruto. Naruto looks almost panicked there._

_They... must have figured out about the team rule and created that as a placeholder until I could rejoin them. Good. Now, how do I manage this? I can't just use a Substitution unless there was a major distraction._

* * *

><p>Ibiki noticed the girl with a mirror and a stack of books concealing herself in the tree outside the testing facility. He also noted that most chunin wouldn't spot her despite the pink hair because she was mostly concealed. If she hadn't moved that mirror around, it would have been a lot harder.<p>

Ibiki's eyes flicked to the girl, then her copy, then checked seating arrangements. _The girl's team is... ah. That boy fidgeting in his seat. So he's using his forehead protector to signal her in reply._

One of the other proctors, Tonbo, gave a hand signal of inquiry on the matter.

A slight twitch of his mouth upwards gave Ibiki's reply. _It's bold, clever, and shows superior information gathering and planning. Yes, I'll allow it. The rules are that to be called on their cheating, it has to be done in a way that most genin wouldn't pick up on it._

_Team 7, eh? They may bear watching._

* * *

><p>Superior eyesight wasn't enough as he couldn't see through the people.<p>

Physical strength? No way to apply it. Durability? The same.

Fabricate jutsu? Naruto couldn't think of a way to apply it here.

Ability to transform into a dragon? Other than momentary amusement at the chaos this would cause, it would certainly get him a big fat failure on this test.

"Naruto-kun."

Naruto's eyes flicked to the girl next to him.

"Y-you can copy mine, if you want," whispered Hinata.

"No," whispered back Naruto. "I'll find a way. I always do."

"Of course." Hinata smiled a little, turning her attention back to her own test.

Eyes that could spot a rabbit bolting on the ground from an altitude of a thousand feet caught movement to the side and Naruto blanched. Again. He'd been doing a lot of it since finding out what the test was. _What's Sakura doing in that tree?! What the heck is she thinking? She'll get us all disqualified! Someone's got to see her there and that the Sakura in the classroom is one of my clones! This is bad!_

The second set of cheaters were caught and sent out of the room. Naruto grimaced at that, knowing that any moment now something would go wrong and he'd get his team thrown out. And Sasuke would kill him. And Sakura would probably use her medical stuff to bring him back so she could kill him again for making Sasuke fail.

_There has to be a way. There has to... huh. Waitaminute. That might work._

* * *

><p>Sasuke used his newly awakened Sharingan to copy answers, though it took three tries before he found someone who actually knew what they were doing.<p>

From his position he could see where both Naruto and the Sakura-clone were struggling. Naruto was fidgeting a lot. Sakura-clone was looking stumped. No help from either of them. He could pass but if either one of them failed, all three would fail.

Well, it had been a good try.

If they failed, then he would simply take it out on Naruto for being an idiot. And maybe Sakura for bowing out. And possibly Kakashi for not preparing them better.

Sasuke glanced up as he felt the air shift in the room. Something had just changed, but what?

* * *

><p>He'd practiced with this a lot lately. Not so much this specific application but the two techniques involved.<p>

A shadow clone was formed briefly beneath the desk, and then shifted shape.

A few moments later, a mouse made his way to a wall, found a crack, and then wiggled into that wall. Up along a support beam, then across to a point in the ceiling.

Naruto-mouse watched carefully as one of the genin filled out part of the test. This would work!

"Eh?" asked one of the proctors, standing up and looking towards the ceiling.

It was so startling that the clone self-destructed.

Naruto blinked as the answer to one question abruptly popped into his head. _That was weird, but at least I've got one answer. Not a complete fail!_

* * *

><p>Some things, despite the changes, remained.<p>

"No matter what you say, I will be Hokage one day! And if I need to - I'm gonna fire your ass for making such lame rules!"

Some things, despite the similarities, were different.

"Anko Mitarashi?" asked Sasuke, flipping open a small book. "Ah. You."

"You know her, Sasuke?" asked Naruto.

"Remember the extra training Kakashi-sensei has been giving Sakura and myself? She's the one who suggested beehives, bear-traps, spike-filled pits, and the wolves to Kakashi-sensei," said Sasuke, putting the book away.

Much of the classroom looked between Sasuke to the newly arrived examiner.

"Sounds a lot like the genin training I went through," admitted someone from Grass. "No razorwire though?"

"I'd almost forgotten about that," admitted Sasuke.

"Eh? You three are Kakashi's brats?" asked Anko Mitarashi. "You're little weak wet-behind-the-ears genin. You're not nearly ready for MY test."

"Is that a challenge?" asked Naruto with a grin. His teeth didn't actually morph or anything, but those who saw it were somehow reminded of a large predator about to go hunting.

"A bet, eh? Well, how about if all of you fail - your sensei owes me a month's worth of dango," said Anko.

"And if we win?" asked Naruto.

"Oooh, confident ain't you?" Anko smirked back. "If all three of you survive the test, then I'll do something for your sensei."

"Yeah, like what?" asked Naruto innocently.

Ibiki tried to make a shushing motion to Anko. Some of the chunin winced, anticipating what was to come.

Anko began speaking. She went into details. She used hand gestures to punctuate.

Temari was startled to find, image of herself as a tough battle-hardened kunoichi to the side, she was redder than most tomatoes and getting distinctly uncomfortable.

Ino had fainted.

Hinata had also fainted, but had the presence of mind to turn a tape recorder on prior to that. Just so she'd have notes for later.

Akamaru had put his forepaws over his ears and whimpered. Kiba was looking interested and shifted in his seat. Even HE was slightly embarassed though.

A kunoichi from Sound village was looking slightly bored, and immediately after Anko finished added the comment that it sounded like her first genin mission. When she was eight!

There were several looks of sympathy, even from some of the hardened older genin, towards the Sound kunoichi after that revelation. As well as three people throwing up, one of whom was a proctor.

"That makes absolutely no sense," said Gaara, who'd remained impassive through the whole thing. "Why would anyone do such a thing anyway?"

At which point one of the other Konoha youths clapped Gaara on the shoulder, removing it a moment later at a glare from the younger genin, and promised to take him somewhere he knew where the Sand youth could truly experience what made the ninja life worth living.

A few glares were sent at that Konoha boy by a few kunoichi, but Gaara's expression turned... thoughtful.

* * *

><p>Sakura waited patiently. Well, for a relative value of patience at least.<p>

Unfortunately, Ino was still trying to get close to Sasuke. If only...

The Sakura walking a little behind Sasuke apparently lost her patience, grabbed Ino by the back of her shirt and her belt, and then flung her in the direction of...

_SPLASH!_

...a large fountain.

_Okay. I can see a few uses for that duplicate-Sakura jutsu. _

A now-sopping-wet Ino charged Sakura, hands out to cheek pull or something else. It didn't work out that way though, as the fake Sakura grabbed Ino's hands, shifted weight, and ended up with Ino's neck tucked in between one elbow and waist while the other Sakura's other hand came up to begin a noogie.

_I can definitely see some uses for that jutsu. Maybe when I'm in a fight we can use it to substitute me out so that they're suddenly dealing with that one._

Sakura's eyes flicked to Sasuke. Whose face was showing signs of amusement and approval before he wiped it away.

Sakura's own eyes narrowed a bit as she considered this new data.

* * *

><p>Naruto considered things and tried it again. Shadow clone. Shapeshift while looking like it was a henge to mouse form. Go off and spy.<p>

"What was that for?" asked Sasuke, who hadn't missed it.

"Practice," said Naruto, it being the honest answer. "Might be useful for spying."

"A little mouse wearing a Leaf headband and happiko (happi coat)?" asked Sasuke. "Kind of obvious."

"Don't know where the clothes came from," admitted Naruto. "Just sort of happened."

Sasuke hmphed, whether that was agreement or condemnation or just acknowledgement was unclear.

"At least Ino gave up," said the Sakura clone. "I don't remember her being that persistent."

"I do," said Sasuke simply.

"Well, how did you two do on the test?" asked Sakura. "I'm sure Sasuke-kun did well, but some of those questions were tricky."

"You managed to do well?" asked Sasuke, a suspicion forming.

"You didn't fail, did you?" asked a voice from nearby.

"Yo, Sakura," said Naruto, turning towards the partially hidden girl. "What are you -"

_KA-THUD!_

Sakura was very intelligent. She remembered not to hit Naruto with her hand, as that would hurt her hand. She used a large wooden board. Unfortunately she used one that was slightly springy so it hit Naruto then rebounded and thumped her.

"Oh, THAT went well," said fake-Sakura as the real one went sprawling backwards from the impact.

"You didn't fail me on a written test, did you?" Sakura pointed at her copy as soon as the little stars faded from view. "If you gave me a low score, I know where to find a big hammer!"

"Me?" asked fake-Sakura. "Oh, I admit I had a few hard moments. Like that code-breaker problem. It was a substitution cipher with a numeric progression adjustment. Difficult, but certainly within my capabilities."

"Oh," said Sasuke, eyes narrowed. "The shuriken question?"

"There were three potential answers in that one," said fake-Sakura, waving it off. "Child's play."

"Naruto, when you made this Sakura, you made a Sakura based on what you think of as Sakura, didn't you?" asked Sasuke.

"How so?" asked Naruto.

"She's smarter, stronger, more confident, and not watching me constantly," said Sasuke. "Instead she's constantly looking around, analyzing her surroundings and assessing threats. Her body language reads completely different. Just look at the two together."

"I'm also better looking," said fake-Sakura.

"You're asking to be popped aren't you?" asked real-Sakura.

"Well, I guess," said Naruto, answering Sasuke's question because the idea of getting stuck between two combative Sakura Haruno was frightening.


	11. Chapter 11:Forest of Snacks?

**Spiral Dragon**

by Greylle

DISCLAIMER: Original series belong to someone else.  
>NOTE: things continue to deviate from canon, hopefully in a humorous manner.<p>

* * *

><p>Sakura HAD overheard Sasuke. "Come on, you. We're having a talk about you impersonating me."<p>

Naruto watched as real-Sakura stalked off, with fake-Sakura stalking off behind her. "Uhm."

"Troublesome," summed up Sasuke.

"Yeah, well, we got to get to this Training Ground 44. You ever been there?" Naruto scratched his head, trying to remember something. "It sounds familiar."

"No," said Sasuke.

"Well, it's four and four so it seems kinda ominous," noted Naruto.

"Ninja flair for the dramatic," said Sasuke, well acquainted with the practice.

"Maybe," said Naruto.

* * *

><p>Sakura was quick to check out the fake her. One of the things she'd been curious about was WHY Naruto had fixated on her back in the Academy. Back then she'd not been curious as he was simply an annoyance, an obstacle on the road to Sasuke.<p>

Now Naruto wasn't nearly as annoying, as stupid, or as worthless. No, Naruto was possibly the strongest genin in the village in terms of pure physical strength. Now Naruto had a clan, with clan techniques and some support. Not a lot as apparently 'Aunt Keri' was not a ninja and not allowed by some non-interference agreement to do much as far as mission prep, which was a pity as Sakura thought that Naruto's Aunt might just have made a good ninja.

It was her frustration in getting anywhere with Sasuke that had brought up that curiosity about why Naruto had been asking her out for YEARS. Despite constant rejection he'd persisted until VERY recently.

So why? What qualities HAD Naruto gone after her for? Would it be possible to show those qualities to Sasuke and get him interested? Why had he abruptly dropped asking her out?

"Here," said Sakura, indicating to the clone that a bench under a tree would do.

"Okay," said fake-Sakura, looking slightly miffed but taking a seat. "What is it? You do realize that one of us has to be at Training Ground 44 very shortly, correct?"

Sakura took a good look at her other self. Slightly shorter, but having the indications of tight wiry muscle everywhere that wasn't covered. So probably weighed more.

Sakura eyed her distorted mirror, taking in details.

"What, you just looking me over for some..." The clone considered her original briefly. "Cataloging differences?"

"Figured it out?" asked Sakura, slightly surprised.

"Deduced - based on eye movement and the focus of your pupils," said fake-Sakura, her head cocking slightly to the side. "The possibility of you advising Naruto on corrections to make is relatively low, so I would assume that this has something to do with Sasuke."

Sakura blinked, then stared at her fake-self. "You... don't sound like Naruto."

"Hardly, Naruto created me - so I have his memories prior to my creation, but since then I've fitted myself more into this role," said fake-Sakura, one hand coming up to touch herself over the sternum. "Though I may have a limited duration, for the time I am around I am me. A version of yourself."

"Naruto sees me as..." Sakura looked herself up and down again. "I can't even picture Naruto using words and terms like that."

"His learning ability has recently been addressed," said fake-Sakura. "However, Naruto has some difficulties in applying the information."

"You're smarter than he is," noted Sakura. "How is that even possible?!"

"Use your own intelligence, original," stated fake-Sakura, her voice sounding mildly sarcastic. "More than that is either a Clan Secret, a Village Secret, or otherwise Classified. Now, either you or I need to make haste to Training Ground 44 in order to participate in the second trial phase of these Chunin Exams."

"Fine," grumbled Sakura. "I'll go."

"In that case," said fake-Sakura, obviously thinking. "I shall follow discretely, observe the conditions of the test, and then see what I can do in terms of support from the shadows. I estimate that without using any jutsu, I can maintain myself for another eight hours."

Sakura considered her double again. _Naruto really sees me like this?_

"We should hurry," said fake-Sakura, standing up. "Timing isn't everything, but it is of vital importance on shinobi missions. Which is really the best way of viewing the Chunin Exam itself, isn't it?"

* * *

><p>"Waitaminute," said Naruto as the two of them came up to the crowd. "THIS is Training Ground 44?"<p>

Sasuke grunted.

"I take it back, this might just be fun," said Naruto.

"Hm?" asked Sasuke, indifferent to nearby genin who had heard that comment and were now staring.

Naruto came to a stop near the edge. "Yeah. That's the place. I don't know what the test is, but this place has got some good eating."

Shikamaru was nearby with his team, including a rather peeved-looking Ino Yamanaka. "Eating?"

"Yeah," said Naruto, who then realized that a lot of the nearby genin were all looking expectantly at him.

"I just saw a bird land on a branch," said Shikamaru, pointing. "The branch turned out to be some carnivorous vine monster. It ATE the bird."

"Oh, those things," said Naruto, deciding to just go ahead. "They don't taste too good either. Even when cooked. As long as they don't touch your skin you should be fine."

"It ATE a bird," repeated Shikamaru.

"Yeah, well, there's all sorts of things in there that're decent meals," said Naruto. "Giant tigers, the centipedes are kinda nasty unless you cook 'em first, the leeches are yucky, but there's some pretty big snakes that are pretty good."

"Really?" asked Choji. "What do they taste like?"

"Sorta like pork-bone ramen," said Naruto. "Except the poisonous ones, they taste kinda like chicken."

"How big are these snakes?" asked Shikamaru.

"Varies," said Naruto, pointing at the gates. "Smallest are about as long as you are tall. Biggest I've seen are from here to the gate."

"That's about thirty feet," noted Shikamaru.

"Oh, and there's some acid spitters, they can get kinda nasty but as long as you stay off the ground - you're fine," said Naruto with a nod. "They don't taste good at all."

"Naruto, you found this place AFTER your bloodline awakened, right?" asked Sasuke.

"Yeah?" asked Naruto.

"So is this place dangerous to those of us who do not have your physical talents?" asked Sasuke calmly.

"Uhm," said Naruto as he thought about that. "Yeah. I guess. Most of it actually."

"That's why it's called the 'Forest of Death' and not the 'Forest of Snacks' meatbag," said Anko Mitarashi, appearing in front of the group in a whirl of smoke and leaves.

"Oh, I figured that was just the ninja need to go for dramatic names and such," said Naruto, scratching the back of his head.

"Kakashi's brats, huh?" asked Anko. "I'll be keeping my eye on you."

"Better use both eyes," Naruto shot back. "That way you won't miss a Moment Of Awesome."

Sasuke smirked.

"Still need all three of your team, and I only see two," said Anko. "Your kunoichi better show soon."

Naruto just looked confident. Sasuke continued to smirk.

Anko made a gesture. A thrown kunai grazed a cheek.

"Yeowtch! What was that for?!" asked Kankuro.

Anko was abruptly behind him, wrapping snakelike around his limbs and resisting his effort to do a substitution. "You think I didn't notice you were missing a member too?"

Anko licked the blood off his cheek and noticed this genin was at least old enough to have a purely involuntary physical reaction to her body pressing up against him like this.

"What? Are all the women in this village sex-crazed or something?" asked Kankuro, struggling and quite aware of his reaction.

"No, just the ones over puberty," said Anko, releasing him and deciding to further mess with the guy. Part of her job description after all.

"Urk," said Kankuro as his earlier meeting with Naruko and now this pushed his imagination into somewhere that had more to do with teenage hormone-induced fantasy than anything resembling reality or ninja missions.

"Now listen up," said Anko, using a movement technique to appear before the group again and holding up two scrolls. "These are the conditions of the second test. This is an Earth scroll, this other one a Heaven scroll. Your team will be assigned one scroll, and you must acquire the other scroll by ANY means necessary."

"Including prying it from the cold dead fingers of an opposing team?" asked a genin from Mist.

"That's where the waiver you have to sign before you get a scroll comes into play," acknowledged Anko. "Absolving me and Konoha from any responsibility for your death, dismemberment, maiming, poisoning, transformation, disintegration, or similar ends to your shinobi career."

"Did I miss much?" asked Gaara as he approached.

"No, I... GAARA'S SMILING?!" Kankuro felt faint.

"He probably just overheard that he can kill someone in this section of the Exam," reasoned Temari.

"No, Inako's House of Pleasure," said Gaara. "I only had the ten minute treatment, but I can come back and get a full hour."

"Wha-wha-what?" asked Kankuro, whose imagination was already pretty much in lemon territory.

"Yeah, right," said Temari, deciding to disbelieve the whole thing rather than deal with the implications.

Gaara merely found the smile on his face and exterminated it. He could dwell on the pleasantness of the foot massage and those little meat pastries later. And that had just been in the waiting room - what was available deeper in the building?

* * *

><p>Sakura rejoined Team 7, looking thoughtful.<p>

"Did the clone dismiss herself?" asked Sasuke, noting that this was real-Sakura and not the other one. Also putting away the little notebook where he'd been amusing himself by trying to figure out ways of avenging himself against one Anko Mitarashi.

"No, she's going to get various supplies first and toss them over the fence in about three hours," said Sakura. "We'll want to be back near Gate 7 at that point."

"Oh?" asked Sasuke.

"We're not allowed out, she wouldn't be allowed in, but nobody said anything about supply drops," said Sakura.

"Sneaky," said Naruto with a grin. "Almost Chunin-like, one might say."

"So which of us gets the scroll?" asked Sakura.

"I think you should," said Naruto. "You keep more scrolls than the rest of us anyway."

"Oh, and I can use a henge on it to make it resemble another kind of scroll," said Sakura. "Good idea."

"Uhm, right," said Naruto, not wanting to admit that hadn't been his idea.

* * *

><p>The initial report had been months ago. A new shrine, the Hiryu Shrine, with the head priestess claiming to be of Uzumaki heritage. Not that Uzumaki heritage was all that unusual. Since the destruction of their village the inhabitants had scattered throughout many of the countries, even a few in those countries that had invaded Whirlpool.<p>

Now that he was here in the Leaf Village and just outside the shrine itself, he could see that it was of more interest than his initial reports had indicated.

There was a Bounded Field surrounding the shrine. Fair work, but he wasn't sure what to make of the conditions. Intent perhaps?

He looked over the shrine, the torii, the stairs, nodding as he ticked off the various lines and wards. He couldn't see them, not as clearly as a Hyuga or Uchiha could if they'd been present. He wasn't exactly inexperienced though.

Smirking, he found a weak point and broke it - letting the wards unravel and dissipate without a trace. Simple inexperience on the part of the one who'd set the wards, leaving in a point like that where the whole thing could come crashing down.

Orochimaru was still smirking when a wooden ema plaque struck him. Such a thing was not very weighty and wouldn't do much damage, though this one shattered on impact and became a large number of jagged wooden shards that sunk into his face. Mainly because of the sheer force it had been thrown with.

"Okay, that was just rude," said Orochimaru as he healed the damage and looked up the remaining stairs to where a redheaded shrine priestess stood with one hand in a tora-sign and the other holding a handful of paper wards. "So you arranged a trigger if your wards were taken down? I didn't see it, so it must have been..."

The priestess finished whatever her preparation had been and threw the paper strips. Contrary to the normal behavior of such things, these sped out on curving loops that ended with them hanging in mid-air on each side of him.

Orochimaru actually raised an eyebrow at the writing on them now that one was only a few feet away from his face. "Wards against 'supernatural evil'? I suppose I should be flattered but that's hardly going to have any effect on me."

_SLASH!_

Orochimaru frowned as a blonde girl wielding a pink sword landed on one side from him. "Oh, now that's rude."

"Naruko, stay out of this, this one is beyond your abilities," said the shrine priestess.

"Well, it's nice to be recognized, I suppose," said Orochimaru, reaching out to pluck the barrier ward out of the air.

_FZAK!_

Orochimaru shook his burned fingers, noting that the movement was enough to have his head fall off from the earlier decapitation move.

"Oh, now this is quite rude," said Orochimaru, before shedding his disguise as he pulled himself out of his own mouth.

"I thought you were a naaldlooshii," said the priestess. "Such are not to be accorded more formal manners."

"I'm not familiar with the term," said Orochimaru before spitting something acidic at the nearest ward which began to dissolve. All the wards fluttered loose as soon as one failed.

"A 'skinwalker', an immortal being that kills victims and then cloaks itself in their skin to assume their identities," said the priestess. "I think you can see where I'd make such an error."

Orochimaru appeared to think about it. "Yes, actually. I can see where you might get such an idea. Now you know better?"

"Yes, you're a powerful ninja who just happens to do much the same," said the priestess.

"Just a moment," said Orochimaru, lengthening his arm to grab the attacking blonde swordswoman before she could slice into him again, then flinging her towards a tree. "Distractions."

"Young, impulsive, impatient," said the priestess, shrugging with one shoulder. "I repeat myself."

"Ah, yes, I am familiar with that sort," admitted Orochimaru. "Now, do I understand you're not actually a ninja?"

"True, and as you are currently not on the shrine grounds, or attacking me, I'm limited in my responses," said the priestess as she produced another set of wards.

"Interesting," said Orochimaru, seeming to shift coloration and begin melting. "You detected my mud clone and substitution. You might just be worth marking. How unfortunate that I have pressing business elsewhere."

* * *

><p>"Yeesh," said Naruto, shaking mud and other substances out of his ninja sandals.<p>

"So, 'Forest Of Death'," said Sakura. "It doesn't seem so bad. Nothing in it but trees."

A large tiger rumbled as it came out of the brush, teeth bared in a snarl.

The breeze shifted just a little bit.

The tiger snorted, blinked, then turned and ran.

"What?" asked Sakura, who'd found the idea of a tiger weighing nearly eight hundred pounds turning and running from them to be somewhat odd. "Not that I'm complaining, but - why did it run like that?"

Sasuke glanced at the bushes the tiger had disappeared in, glanced at Naruto, and then considered something before nodding once. "Survival instinct. There's a bigger predator around."

This didn't reassure Sakura at all.

"Oh," said Naruto after a few moments, getting the idea. "Well, let's get going."

"Do you have any idea where we're going?" asked Sakura. "We can't go too far from Gate 7 until the supply drop."

Naruto frowned for a couple of moments, sighting on the distant gate and then pointing off away from that and to the right. "There's a stream going through there, and some rocky outcroppings just a little bit past that."

"Somewhere we can set up camp?" asked Sasuke, about to say how stupid it would be to remain in a location where they could be found. Then something occurred to him and he nodded. "Ah. Right."

Naruto's grin was slightly mischievous.

_THUMP!_ went a supply bundle as it landed in the forest.

"Why would we set up a camp, wouldn't that just provide," began Sakura, whose eyes widened a little as the idea came to her, "a target? Oh."

* * *

><p>The Rain genin smirked. Three little Leaf genin had set up their camp. One's feet were sticking out of the tent, the other two sneaking off into the woods.<p>

A whisper reached his ear. "I knew that the Leaf Village was weak and had no idea of how to be proper ninja, but this..."

The Rain genin nodded to his compatriots, readying his umbrella. This situation was too good to pass up.

The umbrella shot out, twirling open and raining senbon down upon the campsite. The tent was pierced, the legs sticking out of it twitching a bit, and then lying still.

"Quickly, before the other two get back," said the lead genin, leaping into the small clearing.

"Why don't we kill them too?" asked the second of the three.

"We will, but we can find the scroll first, otherwise it's all just a waste of time," said the lead genin. Naturally he went to the dead genin first, the logical place to expect their scroll. Once there though, he leaned down and picked up one of the senbon. Which had one end bent. "What the hell?"

"Surprise," said the not-dead genin, reaching out and grabbing one of the Rain genin's ankles.

The boy rolled to his feet, then began flailing around with the Rain genin, as if the one he'd grabbed was a flyswatter and he was after a particularly agile and troublesome bug.

"You monster!" said one of the two other Rain genin, getting ready to throw kunai.

"Excuse me," said Sasuke, landing on the kunai-thrower's head.

"Going somewhere?" asked Sakura as she appeared before the third of the Rain genin.

* * *

><p>"That's FIVE freaking 'Earth' scrolls," complained Sakura.<p>

"Well, maybe we can find one of the other teams and trade with them?" asked Naruto.

"That's providing we run into another team, they have more than one Heaven scroll, and it's actually someone that won't automatically attack us," pointed out Sakura. "Which is what happened last time we offered."

"Another team just arrived," said Sasuke, glancing up.

The three genin stopped and looked at the newly arrived team of three genin.

"Trade you an Earth scroll for a Heaven scroll?" asked Naruto hopefully.

"How did you get so many scrolls in less than a day?" asked Shikamaru.

"We camp here, near one of the gates," said Naruto, jerking a thumb in the direction of the fence. "When someone attacks us, we beat 'em up, then I toss 'em over the fence."

"Once they're outside the fenced area, the team is disqualified and can't return," added Sakura. "Two of us use bunshin to act as decoys, Naruto is bait."

"I can take a hit better than the rest of my team," said Naruto, shrugging.

"And the teams roaming this area are on the lookout for weak teams that are afraid to go further in where the bigger predators including the more powerful teams are," noted Shikamaru as he put together the evidence. Craters, ninja-shaped indentations in the ground, and a couple of scorch marks that hadn't been cleaned adequately further indicated what Team 7 had been up to. "It's not going to be effective in the future though."

"Yes, well, the area has pretty much been 'fished out' I think," said Sakura. "Hey Ino."

Ino kept her position behind Choji and continued to glare at Sakura.

"What about you guys? Got a Heaven Scroll you want to trade for an Earth scroll?" asked Naruto hopefully.

Shikamaru reached inside his vest and withdrew... an Earth scroll.

"Oh MAN, we just can't get a break today," complained Naruto.

* * *

><p>Shikamaru Nara was able to put things together. He was lazy and would rather watch the clouds than actually put any effort out, but now his life was on the line. Besides, if his mother heard that he deliberately failed any part of this exam - she would be extremely harsh towards him.<p>

That would be Troublesome with capital T and appropriate underlining. She was naturally talented at that.

Sakura was different from earlier in the day. Walk, body language, voice wasn't quite the same, a few details like that. Much more what he would have expected and not what he'd observed earlier.

Sasuke was the same as earlier, though even more alert. His eyes constantly checking his environment, staying silent and a little removed from his team in order to keep track of the conversation while keeping an ear open for hostiles.

Naruto. Naruto was the one most changed from the Academy. His loud misplaced overconfidence had been replaced with a more quiet confidence. Also, if you watched carefully, you could see how careful he was in doing perfectly normal things. As if he was afraid that things would be accidently crushed by an errant move.

That handclap before the first exam, coupled with the evidence he'd seen now, including the information overheard at the gates prior to entry to the forest. Naruto was stronger. Lots stronger. Stronger than should be physically possible with only minor reduction in speed if that. Also tougher. There were tears in his clothing and what looked like an acid burn on a shoulder, but his skin was unmarked.

So the main difference from his expectations was Naruto.

The rumor of him having unlocked some kekkei genkai had originally been dismissed as just an overheard comment at that ramen bar.

All three members of Team 7 could pose a danger to his team (ninja), but the evidence that he'd acquired prior to approaching plus their confirmation of the fate of the teams they'd fought indicated that the danger was lessened by their intent. None of Team 7 tended towards ruthlessness, including Sakura's pursuit of Sasuke. Fights between kunoichi over a guy could turn deadly but there hadn't been any sign of that so far.

"I'm going to get something to eat, I'll be back in a minute," said Naruto. "You guys. Temporary truce, okay? We're all Leaf villagers here, right?"

Shikimaru was quick to agree. "Yeah. No reason to forego possible allies when there are better targets, right?" After all: it got the insanely strong Naruto out of immediate fight range, if they were attacked by outsiders the two groups together could likely handle a single team much easier, allowed for further collection of information, and stretching their own food supplies out would further benefit them.

* * *

><p>"Use your summons, you can hunt better that way," said Sasuke, breaking his silence and eyeing the other team. <em>We're not allies, at best we're rivals and worst case enemies. What is he thinking? Or is he even thinking at all?<em>

Shikamaru's eyes flicked again, indicating he was thinking about something.

Sakura was keeping an eye on Ino. Ino seemed a little intimidated by Sakura. That was good, because the dreaded Ino-pounce was less likely.

There was a crashing of trees off where Naruto had vanished and then the dragon was briefly visible as it lifted up.

Ino screamed. Choji swore. Shikamaru made a face.

Sasuke, on the other hand, smirked. It wasn't showing an ace-in-the-hole. This was a promise. If the three genin of this rival team moved against them, they could end up eaten.

"What the hell was THAT?!" asked Ino as soon as she'd recovered from the shock.

"Naruto can summon dragons," said Sakura as if it were no big deal. Apparently forgetting completely what her own reaction had been the first time she'd seen that. And she still didn't know that the dragon WAS Naruto.

"That's why the animals are all avoiding this area," put together Shikamaru, eyeing Sasuke now. "Big predators tend to avoid bigger predators. Naruto probably has that smell on him if he associates with that very often."

Sasuke inclined his head, perfectly willing to let the most obvious (if incorrect) assumption get carried around.

* * *

><p>Sakura sat atop the shrine building, looking out over Konohagakure, and checked her chakra reserves.<p>

If she remained here, not moving or exerting herself, she could last about seven minutes.

She wasn't real, but there was so much to do and see. So many experiences she'd briefly accumulated. She wished she could go on, just one more day. Life was an adventure and she wanted it to continue.

Instead, she was waiting to pop.

What would happen afterward? If Naruto had to do this again, would she pick up where she'd left off or would it be an entirely new her?

"Ah, to hell with this," said Sakura as she picked herself up. "Best to just get it over with."

_POOF!_

* * *

><p>Zabuza Momochi was determined not to panic.<p>

The delegation from Kiri was here to collect him and transport him, alive, back to Kiri.

He was beginning to think that being alive did not involve any of the traditional methods of torture. There was something much more frightening that could happen.

"So, Kiri no longer has problems with bloodline practitioners?" asked Haku, looking over one of those who had arrived. As this individual had cat-slitted eyes and long pointed ears - it seemed a likely possibility.

"The current Mizukage has two bloodline elements herself, so no," said the cat-eyed fellow with a grin that revealed especially long canines. "You are Momochi's apprentice?"

"Yes, Haku," said Haku, bowing slightly but not lowering his eyes at all.

"Good," said one of the more normal fellows. "We just have to negotiate with Konoha for the release of Kubikiribocho and we can be on our way."

"What is to be Zabuza-sama's fate?" asked Haku.

"His crime against Yagura was forgiven," said the normal-looking Kiri-nin who'd spoken earlier. "He's still missing-nin, but there's currently a forgiveness program for that too. Probation, payment of fines, that sort of thing. Ryoushi here was part of a nearly exterminated clan and in hiding, but he's done pretty well so far."

The cat-eyed individual nodded. "I was not only reinstated but given my old clan holdings back and made provisional chunin in about three months."

"Yagura hated bloodlines. Our new Mizukage pointed out that killing them weakened us compared to other villages like Cloud and the Leaf that actually encourage them," said the apparent leader of the Kiri-nin. "Now, if one of our ANBU guards would signal the negotiator - we can start the fine detail stuff."

* * *

><p>Naruto had a shadow-clone of human-him on his back, had to keep up the practice if nothing else.<p>

He'd just cleared the trees a short distance when a snake bigger than he was reared up and bit him.

_CRACK!_

Followed by the sound of fangs breaking against armored scales.

"**Oh, cool,**" said the dragon, swinging out and grabbing behind the snake's head. Claws bit in deeply as the snake began thrashing about wildly. Mainly because it suddenly realized that while it was somewhat longer than the dragon, it had the predator-prey relationship completely wrong.

The struggle was brief but intense, the dragon lifting itself up and the snake trying to anchor itself with the trees and constrict the overly tough morsel it had been tasked to kill.

When the boy on the back poofed into smoke, it had a very bad feeling about its chance of success.

"**Heck,**" said the dragon as it finally got the leverage and ripped the head free from the body and dropped it into the jungle. "**This might even be enough for Choji.**"

* * *

><p>"Is that... the dragon returning with a headless snake twice its size?" asked Choji.<p>

"What the...? Oh yeah," said Kiba, having seen the dragon before though that was a long time back.

"When he said he was going to forage and bring back food," said Sakura, rubbing her eyes and looking as if she had a developing headache, "I should have spoken up. That's way too much."

"Hmph," said Neji, feeling the need to contribute something.

"Well, we do have a lot more people here," pointed out Choji. "We can always cook and then pack meat away for use later."

"Why does EVERYONE have an Earth scroll?" asked Sasuke of the heavens.

"Perhaps the proctors provided Earth scrolls to all the Konoha teams as part of a test," said Rock Lee. "Yosh! Yes, I see now!"

"Somehow I doubt that," muttered Neji.

"I think it's more likely it was just a mistake at the printing office or something," said Tenten, who had the scroll for her team. She also knew darn well it was a Heaven scroll that she'd done a henge on before showing anyone.

"So what do we do?" asked Choji. "I mean, I know we're all competing against each other and stuff, but we can't use each other's scrolls and..."

"HAH! SURRENDER YOUR SCROLL and... oh hell."

The combined Konoha genin teams looked over at the Rain team that had just burst out of the bushes.

"You guys really suck at observational skills, don't you?" asked Shikamaru.

The lead Rain genin twitched a couple of times before addressing the Konoha genin. "Isn't it against the rules to gang up against the other teams?"

"Not specifically forbidden," pointed out Sakura.

"Therefore, well, we're ninja. We're supposed to find and exploit loopholes, I think," added Shikamaru in a bored tone of voice.

"Guys, change of plans," said the lead Rain genin, clutching a parsol in one hand and bringing it to a ready position. "RUN AWAY!"

As they turned, they found Neji had put himself right behind them. "You are in range of my divination."

* * *

><p>The dragon had gone off to look for Naruto, who had apparently fallen off during the struggle with the giant snake.<p>

Naruto had returned shortly, looking a bit scuffed up, and had then gone off to throw the three newest Rain genin over the fence.

Sasuke had started the fire, several genin had started cutting apart the giant snake into chunks which could be skewered and cooked over the fire, and the tension of being in the Forest Of Death had largely dissipated.

Not entirely, and there was some distrust between the groups, but the ceasefire was mainly holding.

"Dang, even the bugs are hiding," noted Choji. "Not that I'm complaining."

"That'd be Shino, actually," commented Kiba. "The annoying bugs tend to avoid being around his bugs for some reason."

Shino seemed to glance in their direction. "Something large and powerful is about."

"Well, yeah, dragon," said Ino.

"Not that," stated Shino. "Something that smells of decay."

* * *

><p>This was troublesome. While he could easily crush a handful of Leaf genin, the chance that Sasuke would make an escape in the confusion was uncomfortably high. Or worse, that those lovely Sharingan eyes might be destroyed in the combat. With a smaller number, he knew he could control the flow of battle and test the Uchiha. With FOUR teams all gathered together, that was iffy.<p>

For one thing, there was the very real risk of groups not used to working together creating further chaos on the battlefield. Quite frankly, he was only comfortable when the chaos on the battlefield was of his own making.

There wasn't a great deal of trust between the teams. Understandable. There was also apparently some unknown variables.

"He killed my snake," muttered Orochimaru to himself.

Sure enough, one of Manda's elder children had been decapitated and was now being cut apart and cooked over a campfire. Admittedly, it had been one of the stupider serpents but it had been quite sizable and powerful with strong poison.

ONE genin and his summons was able to kill it. A genin whose physical strength was quite impressive for someone without a curse seal.

The original plan had been to strike when one member of the team was away, or preferably when Sasuke himself was alone. Then the testing of the "last Uchiha" to discover if he had potential as a vessel. The lone team member had been the loud blonde, a large and powerful serpent summoned to deal with him. It had not been a long enough delay.

Now the groups were cooperating but would go their own separate ways soon enough. THEN he could strike.

A delay to the plan, but the plan continued.

* * *

><p>"'Decay'?" asked Kiba. "That's weird. I was smelling snake before Naruto's summon showed up with this, but now I can't smell anything other than the one cooking."<p>

"Byakugan!" said Hinata, hearing this as her cue.

"I've already looked," began Neji dismissively.

"There!" said Hinata, pointing. "Five hundred twenty one meters distance."

"Eh? Byakugan!" replied Neji.

The two looked off for a few moments.

"He's gonna notice if you stare at him," pointed out Kiba.

"Right," said Hinata, shifting so she was facing in a different direction. It didn't really matter with the Byakugan after all - it was a full 360 degree field of vision. Well, 359.

"Hmph," responded Neji, shifting so that he was apparently staring in the same direction as Hinata.

"So what is it?" asked Kiba.

Neji's voice was thoughtful as he used his Byakugan. "It looks like a genin, and it conceals its chakra well - but it's a disguise. Freakishly strong. The only comparable chakra I've seen is either the Hokage or that aunt of Naruto's."

"Not one of the test proctors watching us, is it?" asked Naruto.

"Not likely," responded Neji. "They would not be concealing their identity."

"So, someone with stronger chakra than me?" asked Naruto. At Neji's nod, Naruto thought about it. "So... why is someone watching and waiting us?"

"Most likely to attack and as we are in a large group right now, is reluctant to attack such a group," said Neji, his tone less arrogant than usual as he worked out theories.

"So, he can see us from there?" asked Naruto.

Shikamaru answered, laying back and apparently watching the clouds. "The Hyuga clan's Byakugan is not the only type of sensory jutsu out there. If he's still there, hearing isn't how he's monitoring us. Otherwise he'd know his cover has been blown."

"Found a small snake watching us from just outside this cleared area," offered Hinata, her voice hesitant. "Roughly fifty meters."

"Another one. Seventy five meters." Neji dropped his Byakugan. "Drop your technique. If this is some assassin or spy from another village, they may be able to monitor chakra use."

"Ah, y-yes," agreed Hinata.

"That was awesome though!" said Naruto clamping a hand onto Hinata's shoulder. "Way to go!"

Everyone ignored the squeak from Hinata, and how she swayed. That she ended up falling against Naruto and turning seven shades of red was a little less easy to overlook. Especially as she squeaked again and nearly fainted.

Neji sniffed. "It is completely improper for a Hyuga to squeak like some dog's chew toy."

"Rowf?" asked Akamaru. (You dissing squeakies?)

"So, if this intruder is waiting for us to go our own way," said Sakura. "More reason for us to stay together."

"But we ALL need Heaven scrolls," pointed out Shikamaru. "Counting the one those Rain genin had - that only allows one team to advance."

"Well, this is an exam to see if we're able to be effective chunin," said Sakura. "Chunin are squad leaders and specialists, having to lead field missions or work solo."

"So this might actually be part of the test?" asked Naruto. "That's sneaky!"

The various ninja all considered that. Yeah, it WAS something they could see happening.

"How troublesome," summed up Shikamaru.

"One of our teams can take that Heaven scroll with their Earth scroll and go to the tower," said Choji. "Which one?"

"We can get another one easy enough," said Naruto. "My team's awesome enough!"

Sasuke was about to argue that point but wouldn't arguing the point in this case be seen as a less-chunin thing? If this WAS a further condition of the test would that be a point in his favor or a point against him?

"My team is also okay," said Tenten. After all, their "Earth scroll" was actually a Heaven scroll with a henge. Not that with this many teams out to get a Heaven scroll she was going to admit any of that. "We're experienced enough we don't need your charity."

"We'll take it," said Shikamaru. "I'm not above taking charity."

"But?!" began Ino.

"Yeah, we saw the mess someone made of another team back aways," said Choji shuddering. "Blood-stained ground and pieces of bone and stuff. I don't want to face whoever did that."

"I think we found the same mess," noted Kiba.

"That is NOT encouraging," added Choji.

Sakura considered this, considered having another team owe them one, and considered the chance she'd be able to lord this over Ino in the future. "Go ahead."

* * *

><p>Ah, one of the teams was leaving. Good! Down to three genin teams.<p>

Now a second team was departing as well. Even better. The patient snake gets the mouse after all.

Two teams left.

An Inuzuka, judging from the presence of a small dog.

One smelled of bugs to his snakes and was likely the source of the sentry line he'd had to avoid. Aburame, obviously.

One useless girl who was either injured or exhausted.

Sasuke Uchiha.

That annoying boy with the strength bloodline. What would he be like with a curse seal? The question was intriguing.

And some other kunoichi whose abilities were uncertain but likely weak and useless. Leaf didn't push their kunoichi nearly hard enough. You had to break them a few times to encourage their growth properly.

Orochimaru smiled in a manner that was enough to send small children and civilian women into a panic. Now.

* * *

><p>Kiba looked up as a shift in the wind brought him a scent. "He's com-"<p>

Which was all the time he had before a major wind storm hit, the wind's force enough that branches and leaves and even a small tree were all tumbling along in its path.

Kiba had already braced himself.

Shino, unfortunately, had leapt backwards at Kiba's warning and was in the process of summoning a mass of his kikai insects. Shino shot away from the group, carried by the wind and privately lamenting his choice of tactics.

Hinata had felt herself being sent flying and had immediately latched onto the nearest solid object.

Sakura had dropped into a crouch and as the wind had begun pushing her had used a drawn kunai to dig into the dirt with.

Sasuke had also dropped into a crouch, but had anchored himself with chakra.

Naruto had simply gritted his teeth, dug in, and wondered about two things. One, if he could do this himself. This was quite obviously a wind technique and his Aunt Keri had made the remark he was a wind element user. Two, had Hinata realized she was hanging onto him?

The wind stopped as a Grass-nin walked into the clearing.

"Eeep! I'm s-s-sorry," apologized Hinata as she realized she had been clinging to Naruto. Her mind immediately went over the feel of tight hard muscles on the boy in question, but she knew this wasn't a time to linger on such things. Later definitely.

"Well, well, well, I expected Wind Release: Great Breakthrough to overwhelm the insects before me," said the Grass-nin, noticing that only the Aburame had been blown away.

"You want blown away, try this! Let's go Akamaru," said Kiba, leaping forward and going through hand signs. "Gatsuga!"

"Lame," said the Grass-nin. "One only has to move at speeds greater than your rotation to do THIS."

The Grass-nin reached into the twin drills and had Kiba and Akamaru by the throats. He slammed them into each other a few times as if taking two blackboard erasers and clearing them of dust.

At which point he frowned because someone was killing his observation snakes!

* * *

><p>She could do this!<p>

Their attacker was using those snakes to observe everyone.

Another snake reared back, baring fangs, but compared to the speed of her cousin Neji - it was pathetically slow. A palm-strike crushed its skull.

Leap to the next, which her Byakugan had already located. Another strike, two fingers and a spike of chakra to kill it.

Yes, she could-

_WHAM!_

* * *

><p>Once the Grass-nin had thrown the dog hard enough to knock over the Hyuga girl, it was time for kunai.<p>

Then the Grass-nin threw Kiba, managing to tag Sakura in mid-dodge.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball!"

Sasuke looked around briefly, not seeing the Grass-nin as the fireball set the ground ablaze briefly.

Then something hit him in the back of the head, hard enough to send him to the ground.

* * *

><p>"Using a technique that restricts your vision is foolish against an opponent you already know is faster than you," said the Grass-nin. "Really now, I expected more of a -"<p>

A medium-sized tree came down on him and shed large sections of itself from the impact.

"Watch it!" growled Sasuke, scrambling away. "You nearly got me!"

"No, I hit what I was aiming at," protested Naruto.

"And what was that?" asked a voice as a patch of ground began bulging upward.

The remains of the tree was lifted and brought down again.

"Binding Snake Glare!" said another bulging patch of mud, summoning two large snakes to swarm over the boy. "I do not require interruptions from the peanut gallery."

"Ha!" said a black-haired girl and a pink-haired one as they attacked from either side.

"Binding Snake Glare!" repeated the Grass-nin, though there were large sections of missing nin where someone else was showing through. A hand came up to rip off those remaining tatters of flesh. "Really, this has gone on entirely too long."

"What's the matter, not up for a real fight?" asked Sasuke, his Sharingan blazing as he threw kunai.

"Well, no, not so much," said the former Grass-nin, who simply pumped out Killing Intent to where mere genin would be paralyzed. "Let's just get this over with, shall we?"

His neck extended and with his mouth opening wide to reveal fangs, Orochimaru attacked. Sasuke tried to bring himself to move but found himself still nearly paralyzed from the Killing Intent blanketing the area.

_CRACK!_

"Omph?!" asked the not-Grass-nin, as someone had stuck his arm in the way and his carefully prepared fuuinjutsu bite went off in the wrong target.

"Waff?" asked the pale-skinned man. "Waff diff yuu. Mah teef?!"

Sure enough, he could see where his poison was dribbling off the boy's arm, and there were a few broken white bits tumbling to the ground.

His neck finished retracting all the way. "You bwoke mah teef?"

"Ick," said the boy with the strength bloodline, shaking his arm to get stuff off of it.

"Watch where you're spraying that stuff," complained Sasuke as the Killing Intent had abruptly cut off.

"Ah wiww wemembew fiss," promised the pale-skinned attacker before a large mass of bugs obscured him from view. "Ow fiss is juff gwate."

* * *

><p>Shino walked into the clearing as his insect swarm dissipated, the nin they'd been attacking nowhere to be seen.<p>

"Damn! Your bugs ate him?" asked Naruto, a little disgusted by the idea.

"No, he merged with the ground and my insects were unable to pursue," said Shino.

"And we STILL need two Heaven scrolls," complained Kiba as he got up and limped over towards Akamaru.


	12. Chapter 12: Gaara's smile?

**Spiral Dragon**

by Greylle

chapter 12: Gaara's smile? DISCLAIMER: Original series belong to someone else.  
>NOTE: things continue to deviate from canon, hopefully in a humorous manner.<p>

* * *

><p>"Kabuto," hissed a shadow. "What information do you have on that rather loud boy on Team 7?"<p>

Kabuto heard the tiniest bit of anger in Orochimaru's words, and so complied immediately. "Loud, prone to idiocy. Naruto Uzumaki, recent genin. Rumors abound that the Academy's dead last managed to unlock some kekkei genkai relating to strength and overall physical toughness, but I haven't confirmed such things."

"I think perhaps I'd like to hear a bit more of such rumors," said Orochimaru, taking a seat nearby.

"Mind you, I haven't confirmed any of this," put in Kabuto, adjusting his glasses as he spoke.

"I understand that," agreed Orochimaru.

"According to the records and direct observation, the typical Uzumaki bloodline gives several benefits. Enhanced stamina, large chakra capacity, longevity, and a natural talent for fuuinjutsu. Also, for whatever reason, red hair is a dominant trait." Kabuto paused for a moment, disliking adding speculation to established facts. "Overheard comments and notes I was able to access briefly indicate that there is a rare subset of the Uzumaki bloodline that is considered a Main House line. This includes a contract for summoning dragons, and that contract gives the holder dramatically increased strength and durability."

"I see," mused Orochimaru. "So the binding of the dragon allows it to share its power. I had thought something else, but I suppose it could be."

"'Something else'?" asked Kabuto.

"I encountered Team 7 as planned," said Orochimaru, his gaze towards the sky and obviously distracted. "The encounter, however, did not progress according to plan."

"Ah," said Kabuto, thinking that this explained Orochimaru's obvious irritation.

"If there's a bond to a dragon, I wonder if the legend's vulnerabilities are also copied," mused Orochimaru. "See if you can get ahold of a plant called marsh ember or feverbreak."

* * *

><p>"Another Heaven scroll?" complained Gaara.<p>

The visible amount of frustration that Gaara was experiencing was enough to get both Kankuro and Temari into a near-panic mode.

"Calm down, Gaara," tried Temari. "We'll get one soon enough."

"Yeah, what are the odds after all?" asked Kankuro.

"Never tell me the odds," grumbled Gaara, glaring at his brother. Sand began gathering into a large pile.

"Well, we can always try bartering a Heaven scroll for an Earth scroll," suggested Temari.

"I'd barter YOU for an Earth scroll at this point," said Gaara, still feeling murderous.

A genin dropped out of the trees. "If you've got a Heaven scroll, I can trade you an Earth scroll."

"You don't want my sister?" asked Gaara, sounding very peeved at this point.

"I'm sure she's a very nice bloodthirsty kunoichi," offered the blond kid, waving one hand in what he apparently hoped was a placating manner.

"How in the blazes did I end up being a stake?" asked Temari of absolutely no one in particular.

"Don't knock it. It gets you out of the immediate blast zone when Gaara goes off," noted Kankuro in a voice pitched softly enough to just reach her.

"I'll just take the scroll from your corpse," decided Gaara, thrusting a hand at the genin. "Sand burial. Sand coffin."

"Well, that's that," said Kankuro as the kid was surrounded by sand and it compressed.

_BOOM!_ went the sand in all directions.

"Pfeh peh ptooh!" said the genin, spitting sand out of his mouth. "That sucked! Well, how about two Earth scrolls for two Heaven scrolls? AND your sister."

"Nobody's ever gotten out of a sand burial before," said Gaara, a slightly intrigued tone entering his voice. "Fine. Done."

"WHAT?!" squeaked Temari.

"Uhm, you can't do that," said Kankuro, holding up a hand.

"Thank you," said Temari, grateful someone had some sense here.

"We have to report as a team to the tower," pointed out Kankuro as Gaara's gaze went towards him. He only squeaked a little.

"Oh good," said the genin. "Too bad then."

"Fine, you'll take her after we turn in the scrolls," said Gaara.

"What?" asked the genin, looking a little shocked.

"What?" asked Temari, who was a LOT shocked.

"What?" asked Kankuro, wondering how exactly this had happened.

There was a pause before Gaara asked "What?"

"Ok, fine," said the genin, clearly not sure of what was going on.

That was fine though, as he wasn't the only one.

* * *

><p>"Naruto? Why exactly did you think this was a good idea?"<p>

"They were arguing about it when I got there, but I never thought they'd go with the deal!"

"Hn," said Sasuke, shaking his head at the silliness of the whole thing.

"When Kakashi-sensei calls you 'number one knucklehead unpredictable ninja' - you shouldn't take it as a challenge," said Sakura. "What are we going to do with a foreign kunoichi?"

"Uhm, question her for intel we can use against the other members of her team?" tried Naruto.

"Stupid Naruto, that's... that's not such a bad idea," said Sakura, brightening a little.

* * *

><p>"So," guessed Kankuro. "This was to gather intel?"<p>

Gaara made a vague noise and sat down to brood. That and idly crush snakes that wandered too close to their position.

"'Intel'?" asked Temari. Not that Gaara threatening to sell her off wasn't less concerning than the usual threat to feed her blood to his sands. It was still less than an optimal situation.

"That's what you were thinking, right?" asked Kankuro.

Gaara made another sound that might have vaguely been some sort of agreement. Though mainly it was just that he had found yet another snake in the grass and was squishing it. If he had been familiar with bubble wrap he would immediately have equated popping one with popping the other.

"Okay, that makes more sense," said Kankuro. "When you're hanging around with the Leaf nin, you can gather intel from within their camp. That way you can find out how that one genin managed to survive Gaara's sand."

"Oh? Oh!" said Temari. It made sense, looked at that way. These Leaf nin would have her do a few odd jobs or something, letting slip details in front of their hostage/captive because everyone KNEW the Leaf were softies and hardly proper ninja at all, and then she'd be able to inform her own side of any weaknesses or exploits she'd been able to uncover.

"Very sneaky," said Kankuro. "I'll try to get you a maid outfit."

"Excuse me?" said Temari, ready to bring her fan down on top of Kankuro's head. Which was a MUCH safer option than trying to do the same to Gaara.

* * *

><p>"So, here," said Sakura. "Don't forget you'll owe us one for this."<p>

"Man, that guy smelled of blood. Old blood. And hate." Kiba shook himself a bit. "Glad it didn't come down to a fight."

"Dude, can you stop it with the bugs?" asked Naruto. "They itch."

"That... shouldn't be occurring," noted Shino. "They should just be tagging potential allies." Though Shino did remove his insects from Naruto, he puzzled over why Naruto would be able to notice and report it as an "itching" sensation.

"Bugs?" asked Sakura, vowing to bathe very vigorously when she had the chance.

"So," said Kiba, anxious to change the subject and not dwell on details, "all we need to do now is get to the tower."

"The other teams are likely to have laid traps and ambushes," mused Sakura, putting one finger to a cheek as she thought.

"Y-yes," said Hinata. "There are a few genjutsu and traps I can see from here."

"So?" asked Naruto with a shrug. "I summon a dragon, we fly over everything, and we get to the tower. Simple."

"Except we're not allowed to leave the Forest until the test is finished," stated Sakura. "When your dragon flew back with the snake, it was barely clearing the treetops. AND you weren't on it - so they might not have considered the dragon a member of the team. How high before the proctors consider that leaving the test area?"

"Uhm," said Hinata, tapping one finger from each hand together in a fidgeting gesture. "I have an idea."

* * *

><p>"It's nearly night, I'm surprised nobody's come this far," said a Grass-nin to his fellows.<p>

"They'll come," said a second. "The genjutsu I laid will have them wandering around for hours, giving us plenty of time to arrive."

"That way we get two scrolls for less scrounging," said the first. "Yeah. We know. That's what that Rain team did to us last time. Still, I feel like something's about to happen."

"What could possibly go wrong?" asked the second Grass-nin.

The third ninja glared at the first, opening his mouth to say something appropriately snarky.

_CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!_

A distant crash was immediately followed by a nearby crash which was followed less than a heartbeat later by trees being flung to the side.

Which itself was followed by fifty-plus feet of scaled behemoth running completely over the first ninja, a foot squelching him into the mud as it ran him over. The second ninja scrambled out of the way, all thoughts of ambush scattering in the need to get out from underfoot.

There was a glimpse of several ninja riding atop the beast, then it was gone with only the trampled trail it had left to indicate that it had been there.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" asked the second Grass-nin, having drawn a kunai and now shaking a bit as he tried to get shattered nerves under control.

"I'm not sure," said the third Grass-nin carefully. "But I'm thinking that we should stop borrowing plans from Rain-nin."

* * *

><p>Kiba looked down at the dragon he was riding, then over at Naruto where he was apparently guiding his dragon, and then over at Hinata. "Uhm. Did I happen to see an ambush team get trampled underfoot? Or is that underclaw?"<p>

"You did," said Shino, apparently treating the whole experience as just another day at the office.

Two more trees fell over as a dragon smashed his way through.

"We're not exactly being stealthy," noted Kiba.

"So we're leaving a trail," said Sasuke, shrugging from his own place where'd he secured himself with a tether.

Kiba looked backwards. "'Trail'? It's almost a damn road."

"If you don't like it, you can get off and walk," suggested Sakura. "Hinata was right. We don't need to be stealthy if we can just go right there. Once we're in the tower and we've turned in our scrolls, this test is over and we're safe."

"WHAT THE YAAGGHHH?!"

_Tromple! Squelch!_

"There goes another ambush team," noted Kiba. He thought about it briefly. All things considered, yeah, he could live with it.

"The tower's straight ahead!" called out Hinata from slightly behind Naruto.

"**Right,**" rumbled the dragon's voice. "**Hang on.**"

* * *

><p>Iruka Umino looked over the combined groups. "You know. I don't think we've ever had this many teams arrive this soon after the test began."<p>

"We're just awesome that way, believe it!"

"Hinata? Do you have a frypan I can borrow? I feel the sudden need to hit Naruto with one."

"I-I don't happen to have one. Sorry."

"Sure you do, Hinata. You've got an entire cookset in that one scroll."

"Kiba," complained Hinata, ducking her shoulders.

"As amusing as this is," said Iruka, who then went into explaining the two scrolls - how one needed mind and body honed into a weapon in order to excel as a ninja.

"So, what do we do now?" asked Kiba.

"The test is going on for a week, so it'll be the end of the week before your results are given," said Iruka. "There are rooms and supplies here in the tower though. Just don't leave the fenced-in area before the end of it."

* * *

><p>"I am NOT wearing this!" declared Temari, looking at the frilly black outfit with the white apron.<p>

"It's got six senbon, four kunai, a set of lockpicks, and two smokebombs in padded hidden pockets," said Kankuro proudly.

Temari blinked, holding the garment up and looking it over a bit more carefully. "You're kidding."

"No, really, see," said Kankuro, reaching into the skirt and pulling out a set of lockpicks. "Because they aren't chakra-sealed then a sensor-type won't pick 'em up. There's also a section where you can seal your battle-fan into a scroll and hide it there."

Temari flipped the garment around, feeling sections and determining where at least some of the objects were. "Where the heck did you get such a thing?"

"I made it, of course," said Kankuro proudly, puffing up a bit. "The skills of a ninja puppeteer are many and varied. We have to be able to make our own puppets after all."

"Why would you even have such a thing?" asked Temari, an eyebrow twitching as she tried and utterly failed to picture one of his existing puppets wearing something like this.

"Now let me measure you so I can make adjustments for size," said Kankuro.

"I don't think so," said Temari, noting that Kankuro had NOT answered the question. "I'll try it on, but I am NOT wearing this."

* * *

><p>"Peh," said Naruto, making a face. "Man, I'm still getting little sand grains out."<p>

"Stop complaining about it, you're a ninja," said Sakura.

"I'm gonna let my dragon go foraging," said Naruto, thinking he could get the sand out of his mouth that way.

"Fine," said Sasuke, thinking that Naruto being a dragon probably meant he needed huge amounts of food to sustain him.

"But..." Sakura glanced at Sasuke, then at Naruto. They were surrounded by hostile ninja after all, and she had a feeling that if she'd been attacked the way Naruto had been attacked - she'd be dead many times over by now.

Sasuke figured out what was making her nervous. "Stay in the room. None of them have a reason to come after us now, and if they DID they might end up disqualified."

"Oh, right," said Sakura.

Sasuke nodded, got out a scroll and started studying it. After a few minutes Sakura started working on her own studies.

Naruto, in the meantime, was finding a balcony on the tower.

* * *

><p>Tenten was known as the weapon mistress of Team Guy. Skilled with sealing storage techniques.<p>

She'd seen some of what Naruto could do, his strength and durability, and the contract with dragons. There was also the shrine, which she'd already discovered had fortune-telling scrolls or o-mikuji (she'd gotten sue-sho-kichi (future small blessing) with gakumon (studies) - which she took to mean she'd do well in the Exam.)

Which brought her to checking out the other teams. Direct intel was the best kind after all.

Tenten ducked down into a niche as she noticed someone else doing the same thing. That girl from Team Kurenai, one of Neji's relatives. Didn't she realize she could scout the entire tower from her own room with those eyes?

* * *

><p>"Okay, it looks like those who have already arrived at the tower are the only ones likely to pass the test."<p>

Ibiki smirked. "Whose idea was it to hand out only Earth scrolls to the Konoha teams and Heaven scrolls only to the non-Konoha teams?"

"I thought that was a printer error," said Anko.

Tonbo held up a hand.

"Good thinking," said Ibiki. "That the Konoha teams managed to capitalize on it was just a nice coincidence."

"Some of the outside villages might not think so," noted Anko.

"Why? It was just a printer's error after all," said Ibiki.

"So, what's the plan next?" asked Anko.

"Uzumaki just left the tower, summoned his dragon, and is now apparently foraging," said Mantis as she stuck her head out of a ceiling hatch in the control room.

"Ah," said Ibiki, being high enough up the chain of command he knew the truth about Naruto. He also knew, however, that Anko and most of those present were not so high in security clearances. Personally, he wanted to be present when Anko worked it out. And have a camera. Her expression would be amusing.

"So what we have are Team Suna: Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari - the Kazekage's kids and an experienced genin team," said the ANBU in the Hyottoko mask.

"Team Kurenai: an Inuzuka, a Hyuga, and an Aburame," said Tonbo. "Team Guy: the taijutsu expert, a kunoichi, and a boy with chakra difficulties. Team Kakashi: that dragon-summoner, the Last Uchiha, and their own kunoichi. Team Asuma: an Akimichi, a Nara, and a Yamanaka."

"Fifteen total," said Ibiki. "No need for an elimination round. Not really. We'll see if anyone else manages to get a scroll."

"Unlikely, there's only one team that has all its members still active and intact," said Mantis before ducking back into the ceiling.

"She enjoys that way too much," said Hyottoko.

"No kidding," said Anko. "Fortunately we're all perfectly well-adjusted professionals here."

Mantis popped her head back down out of the ceiling hatch in order to join everyone else staring at Anko.

"What?" asked Anko.

* * *

><p>Tenten was aware of the Hyuga girl watching. She knew she'd heard the girl's name before, it was on the tip of her tongue.<p>

She'd gotten to the balcony in time to see the dragon winging off into the jungle. And now she was seeing... what WAS that?

"Is that a shark, an octopus, or a crocodile?" asked Hinata, revealing that the Hyuga HAD determined she was there.

"ROARRRRRR!"

"**Didn't like that? Have some more!**"

"A sharktodile?" asked Tenten.

"An octocrocoshark?" asked the Hyuga. She looked around. "It looks like others have gathered as well."

"Probably because it's a freaking loud fight," noted Tenten.

"ROARRRRRR-GAK!"

_Crunch crunch crunch_ "**Hmmm. Tastes like chicken.**"

* * *

><p><em>somewhat later:<em>  
>"Urgggg," said Naruto.<p>

"Your own fault," Sasuke pointed out. "Eating strange mutant chimera monsters. No wonder you've got stomach problems."

"Ugh," said Naruto. "This sucks."

"Maid's here," said Sakura, walking into the room with Temari in a maid outfit.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Temari, seeing the blond boy who'd gotten out of Gaara's sand obviously running into something he couldn't handle.

"That croctosharkapus-" began Sasuke.

"I thought that was a sharktopusodile," mumbled Sakura.

"-that his dragon fought? He ate a piece," said Sasuke, going with the cover story.

_So he's vulnerable to ingested poisons,_ noted Temari.

"Maybe you ought to stick to simple ramen for awhile," suggested Sakura. "The one benefit of that kind of food is its easy to digest."

"The single bright spot in all this," groaned Naruto.

"Okay," said Temari. "Where do I get this 'ramen' around here?"

* * *

><p>When your team had the Last Uchiha and the village's most hyperactive knucklehead dragon on it - you expect things to go a bit "outside the box" as he'd heard it described.<p>

So, coming into the room used by Team 7, Kakashi noted that Sasuke had the door open. Sakura was looking a bit green, which really really clashed with the pink hair. Naruto was sitting down, bent over, and had a bucket placed between his legs. And there was a girl in an old-style maid uniform making tea.

Kakashi eyed this last addition to the room, determining that this was that Suna kunoichi.

"What's going on?" asked Kakashi, managing to sound mainly bored but also resigned to some answer that would only make sense in a peculiar context. And possibly not even then.

He'd gotten some experience conveying all that in short sentences due to his association with Gai after all.

"I'm making ginger tea," said the maid. "I had some in my medical supplies. Good for digestion problems." She might not be a med-nin but she could do that much at least.

"Naruto ate some of that crocosharktopus," said Sakura. "He's now dealing with the reward for eating strange mutant hybrid monsters. Honestly, Naruto. It's fine if your dragon eats things like that. Do you honestly think it's going to sit well on a HUMAN stomach?"

"Not anymore," groaned Naruto.

"I think some of it is still wiggling," said Sasuke, looking down into the bucket.

"Urk," said Sakura, turning even more green. "Excuse me."

As Sakura rushed out of the room, Sasuke eyed the contents of the bucket a bit longer. "Ah. My mistake. It's just that the bucket isn't going to last much longer."

"Found a spare," said the maid, pointing at a second bucket.

"Ah, you've dealt with similar situations?" asked Sasuke.

"One of my brothers experimented with alcohol," said the maid. "The results were not what he expected. Also nearly as disgusting as this. Kankuro swore off alcohol after that."

"Kankuro is the redhead?" asked Sasuke.

"No, the other one," said the maid. She gathered the things and went over to Naruto with the tea.

Sasuke switched buckets and went out of the room with the messed-up one, nodding once at Kakashi as he left.

"Urgle," said Naruto.

"Try this, Goshujin-sama," said the maid, holding a cup where Naruto could take it.

Kakashi waited until Sasuke was back before asking. "Okay. What's with the maid?"

"She's our prisoner, whom we're interrogating for details of her team in case we have to fight them later," said Naruto in a strained voice.

"I'm the spy in their midst," admitted the maid.

"You... both admit that rather easily," said Kakashi, thinking that he almost expected that with Naruto around.

"Actually," said Naruto, sounding a bit better after sipping some of the tea, "I think we both found ourselves in this situation and then came up with the reasoning afterward. That about right?"

"Yes," said the maid. "That's pretty much it."

"Oh," said Kakashi, thinking about it then nodding. That made a bit more sense that way. Not much, but at least a little. "So what do you know so far?"

"Can't tell you," said the maid with a shrug. "It would invalidate the intel if you knew what exactly I'd put together."

"That her name is Temari, her team consists of her two brothers and their jonin-sensei is named Baki," said Sasuke. "Gaara uses sand, Kankuro's abilities are currently unknown. Based on his clothing - I'd say ninja-puppets."

"I am neither confirming nor denying," said Temari. "What are you basing that idea on?"

"I saw a puppet show once, his clothing seems based on what the performers wear," said Sasuke.

"Ah," said Temari.

"Her thing is wind release," continued Sasuke, "also at least a little medical training, probably some familiarity with poisons. I'd expect her middle brother uses poisons and she's had to get antidotes ready in a hurry before."

"How'd you know that?" asked Temari, not concealing her curiosity at that point.

"Because ninja puppeteers use poison, and frequently have to have supplies of antidote ready for when mechanical malfunctions occur," said Kakashi. "I had no idea you were so well versed in such things, Sasuke."

"I was curious," said Sasuke, shrugging slightly. "Found some books on Suna tactics used in the last war."

"There are books here?" asked Temari.

"Sakura found a secret room," said Sasuke with a shrug.

"This tower has secret rooms?" asked Temari, thinking this WAS valuable intel.

Kakashi shrugged. "I thought the secret rooms had been cleared of equipment. Guess they missed one. Oh, and yes. Ninja construction crews. Of course there are hidden rooms, hidden ventilation shafts, hidden passages, secret hideaways, spying ports, traps and alarms. Most of them are supposed to be disabled or blocked off though."

* * *

><p>"I've located three with my insects," said Shino. "All are sealed off so that even Akamaru wouldn't be able to negotiate them."<p>

"Well, at least that explains that stench," said Kiba, nose crinkled up in disgust. "What IS that, anyway?"

Hinata paused in going through their medical supplies. "Na-Naruto-kun ate something that disagreed with him."

"He did?" asked Kiba, and his expression shifted to something more delighted. "Perfect."

"You're thinking that he would be incapacitated by this and disqualified if there are preliminary battles," guessed Shino.

"Damn straight," said Kiba. "Me and Akamaru like to fight up close and personal, and I saw enough of how Naruto fights now when the opponent is in that range. I didn't see much, admittedly, but I saw enough. It'd be a damn tough fight."

"Even were you to win that fight, you could take enough damage that it would put you at an increased disadvantage in any further battles," speculated Shino. The bug-user nodded.

"Got it," said Hinata, brandishing a small bottle of medicine.

"Or..." speculated Kiba, "we could offer some assistance now and maybe the whole 'spirit of cooperation' will keep him from using that full freakish strength against Akamaru if it came to that."

Shino watched Hinata exit their room. "That might be a viable strategy as well."

* * *

><p>Sakura had thought about this and was staying away from Naruto and the smell. However, she was also wanting to not appear weak or an obvious target.<p>

So she was using a henge to appear as Sasuke Uchiha.

She was regretting that.

It being a simple henge, it had been dispelled the moment she'd taken physical damage. That wasn't a lot of consolation at the moment.

Orochimaru stared at her, then turned his eyes heavenward. "Why is my simple straightforward little plan to steal those lovely Sharingan eyes and procure a new body running into one problem after the other? This really is quite unfair, don't you think?"

"Guk," managed Sakura, falling to her knees as the world seemed to darken and start spinning.

"I really doubt you can survive getting that cursemark, and all that preparation will be completely ruined," said the pale-skinned older ninja. "Well, at least there's no chance of you surviving so wasting any more time on you is pointless. Uhm. Have a nice day."

"Urkle," gurgled Sakura, before collapsing completely on the floor.

* * *

><p>"That feels a LOT better," said Naruto, stretching. "Thanks, uhm."<p>

"Temari," supplied Temari.

"Too bad we don't have a medic," said Sasuke.

"I..." Naruto paused as Hinata came in the door, half-dragging an unconscious Sakura. "What the heck?!"

"She's been poisoned, I found her in the hallway," explained Hinata, the seriousness of the situation allowing her to function normally despite Naruto's proximity. "Is there a medic nearby?"

"I just know some basic stuff," said Temari, leaning close to examine the wound. "Whoa. That's not just a bite-mark, that's a seal. I don't have any training with that."

* * *

><p><em>What happened? I used a henge to transform into Sasuke, that way I wouldn't get attacked as the weakest link.<em>

"Hang on, Sakura!"

_That didn't work too well did it? Paleface attacked us because we looked like Sasuke._

"Sasuke's gone to look for Kakashi-sensei, and I sent seven shadow clones out to look too. Plus one to see if Aunt Keri knows this stuff."

"'Shadow clones'? You're good enough to send that many out at once?"

_Who? Oh yeah. The maid. Why am I hurting so much?_

"I don't suppose you know anything about this seal-thingie."

"No, goshujin-sama. Not my area of expertise."

"Didn't think so. You just seem kinda relaxed about it all, is all."

_Sasuke's concerned about me?_

_Girl=rival=enemy=KILL!_

_What. The. Heck. It's bad enough when I'm talking to myself without some voice like that bubbling up in my head._

"It's a lot less stressful than what I'm used to, goshujin-sama. I'm surprised myself though, it's actually been kind of relaxing. And amusing. Watching you and duck-butt-hair insult each other. Almost like you're family or something."

_Insulting Sasuke? KILL HER! Blood! Destruction!_

"I knew it! I'm not the only one to think that!"

"He's kind of cool looking despite that."

_KILL! CRUSH! MAIM! DESTROY! DEFENESTRATE!_

_Do I need to cut down on caffeine? That really didn't sound like my Inner Sakura at all._

* * *

><p>Kakashi knew what it was the moment he saw it. "Cursed Heaven Seal. Orochimaru. This is bad."<p>

"So what can we do?" asked Naruto, clearly not used to being helpless since his transformation.

"Nothing," said Kakashi. "Neither you nor Sasuke have the skills needed to do anything about this."

"What about Aunt Keri? I sent a clone to ask her," asked Naruto.

"She... maybe," said Kakashi, admitting he didn't know the full capabilities of the shrine priestess himself. "In the meantime, just keep her comfortable and-"

A wave of murderous intent rose up off of Sakura.

"-and try to keep her from killing anyone while I check for a couple of others who might be able to help," finished Kakashi before vanishing in a poof of smoke.

"Well, I... oh." Naruto paused, going still for a moment. "Aunt Keri is on the way."

"Your Aunt is on the way here?" Temari paused. "Wait. That's the shrine priestess right? Is she going to be okay going into this 'Forest Of Death' like that? What's so funny?"

Sasuke carefully wiped the smirk from his face. "Nothing."

Naruto frowned. "Actually, if someone attacks my Aunt while she's coming... I think I ought to light a stick of incense for their memory or something."

* * *

><p>The rest of her team was GONE. They'd left her with one scroll and gone off to ambush another team.<p>

Now they were dead and she was another Grass-nin with no way to win this second test. If she could get out of this forest she'd at least be alive.

"GRARGH!" roared a large and obviously carnivorous beast as it cornered her and prepared to dine.

She felt the chakra just a moment before the blur solidified. The bear-thing spotted another morsel and attacked.

The woman LITERALLY ripped one of the attacking arms off of the beast and smacked the creature in the head with that impromptu club. The ground seemed to shake when the bear-thing slammed into it.

"Eh?" asked Karin. Red hair. Brilliant red hair on the woman. "E-excuse me?"

"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt your test, but I seem to have gotten turned around," said the woman. "Which way is the tower?"

"Th-that way, I think." Karin swallowed as she pointed. "W-wait. Can I come with you? My team's dead. I just need to escape."

The woman considered her briefly, then nodded. "Very well. I am Keristrasza Uzumaki. Everyone calls me Keri though."

"'Uzumaki'?" asked Karin. Certainly that brilliant red hair was indication, but another Uzumaki? In Konoha? Well, Konoha HAD been an ally of Uzu.

"Yes," said the woman. "I see you've twisted your ankle. I'll help you, as we must move quickly."

Karin felt the woman's chakra. Powerful, potent. Even fiery. No indication she was lying. The strength she felt when the woman held her close was unearthly, as if Karin herself weighed less than a feather. Then they were off again, moving at a dizzying pace.

Karin was feeling very impressed. Then she was feeling very motion-sick.

* * *

><p>"Argh. What the heck can I do?"<p>

"Not much, meatbag," said the Crazy Snake Lady. "Hatake was right, that's Orochimaru's Cursed Heaven Seal. Ain't no way to take it off unless you want to remove Pinky's arm."

"Uhm," began Hinata. "Excuse me."

"Well, excuse me for wanting to help a member of my team!" said Naruto.

"Shut it, kid," said Anko, baring her own shoulder. "If there was a way to get this damn thing off - I'd have already done it."

"Oh," said Naruto, staring at a nearly identical mark on the Crazy Snake Lady's shoulder.

"Pardon me," said Hinata, trying to raise her voice a little bit more.

"All we can do is slap a seal over it to help contain the effects, IF she lives," said the proctor, pulling up her coat to cover the seal again. "It used to be more than half of the victims died. I'm told it's better now, but it's still fatal a lot of the time. He occasionally experiments with some prisoners and then turns them loose in the world - to see how long they survive and how many they kill."

"Naruto!" almost-shouted Hinata.

"Wha?" asked Naruto. "Hinata?"

"Her chakra is dangerously low, and what there is - it's contaminated by that seal," said Hinata. "I think you should..."

Naruto blinked as Hinata mumbled something. "What?"

"He can't do a damn thing, girl," said Anko. "Everything that could be tried HAS been tried."

"I think you should try your strength-sharing jutsu on Haruno-san," said Hinata, just a bit clearer.

"A 'strength-sharing' jutsu?" asked Anko.


	13. Chapter 13: Suna Maid

**Spiral Dragon**

by Greylle

chapter 13: Suna Maid DISCLAIMER: Don't own Naruto, don't own a dragon, don't really own that much actually.  
>NOTE: things continue to deviate from canon, hopefully in a humorous manner.<p>

* * *

><p>"No, I was watching, she's rejecting it," said Hinata after the third attempt.<p>

Keri bit her bottom lip briefly before coming to a decision. "I'll help stabilize her, but this might be seen as interfering with on-duty ninja business."

"She's off-duty now," said Kakashi very quickly. "I'm putting her on medical leave until the next stage of the exams."

"You gonna put a seal around the seal then?" asked Anko of Kakashi.

"Yes, that would be a prudent move," said Kakashi. "Don't want her accidently triggering it and then dying of chakra exhaustion."

"So that's it, that's all we can do?" asked Naruto.

"No, what we can do since everything's set up is have you try that strength-sharing jutsu now," said Kakashi.

"But we just did and she ain't taking it," replied Naruto.

"Not with Sakura as the recipient," said Kakashi. "If you've done it before, you're more likely to get it right the next time you do it. Since there's a month of training between now and then, if you make a mistake - that's a month for both of you to recover."

"Oh," said Naruto.

"So how do we choose which one tries it out?" asked Tenten, indicating herself and Hinata. "Draw straws?"

"Uhm," began Hinata.

"You're not allowed to Byakugan," said Tenten.

"I- I wouldn't," protested Hinata.

"Do both," suggested Sasuke, sounding amused.

"That sort of thing should wait for another time," said Keri firmly. "Let's go with Hinata for now. Next time you need to practice, Tenten can get first chance."

Tenten frowned but nodded. _Damn. There goes my potential advantage in the next fight._

Hinata froze as it now looked as if she might have to kiss Naruto.

"Hinata, are you okay?" asked Naruto.

"Of c-c-course," stammered Hinata, apparently not aware of the trickle of blood coming out of one nostril.

* * *

><p>Karin snuck closer.<p>

As a sensor-type, and now that she was out of the forest with all the various cluttering chakra-signatures, she could easily feel the fiery glow of that one woman.

Who was, Karin felt, absolutely magnificent. Such power, such control, such absolute fire.

She'd felt those with strong fire affinities before, but this was on an entirely new level.

Halfway there she felt another presence, not quite as strong but still very powerful. A huge amount of chakra, potent and cool and it somehow brought her the feeling of a sunlit meadow with mountain breezes stirring the air.

She was on the same floor before the other presences really penetrated, simply because they were of relatively normal levels and tended to be drowned out by the two major sources of chakra present. Much like a flashlight in the sun.

There was also something going on, that caused her to halt as she tried to analyze the feel of the chakra manipulation. Whatever it was, it was powerful.

She had to know who her rescuer was. Had to get the name of this impressive kunoichi who caused her heart to flutter from the raging heat in her chakra.

But she also had to be pretty darn cautious too.

* * *

><p>"Slow down. Just a trickle."<p>

Tenten watched curiously as the Hyuga stood there trembling until Naruto's lips touched hers. At which point she fastened on with arms and legs and a grip that was going to require some serious strength to break.

"Hinata. Slow down. You're trying to take in more chakra than you can process."

Kakashi Hatake considered saying something. How he expected Naruto to be the one to try and go too fast or too enthusiastically. On how the reputation of the Hyuga as cold in-control stoics was slipping a bit. Perhaps a remark about how it was the quiet ones you usually had to watch out for. In the end though, he simply kept his own counsel.

Which was proven the correct course of action when the girl fainted, apparently when she realized exactly to what extent she had latched onto Naruto.

"Okay, that's enough," said Keri. "Good job, Naruto."

"I get the feeling that something else was going on," complained Naruto.

"Ah," said Sasuke. "He can get a clue."

"What?" asked Naruto.

Sasuke just smirked.

Temari just watched and tried to organize her thoughts as to what would eventually be her written report on the whole thing. This jutsu apparently wasn't something that could be pulled out in the middle of a battle, which was a good thing in her book but still might prove a problem in this exam's last stage.

* * *

><p>"Karin? We got letters from Konohagakure."<p>

"What?" asked Karin Nagumo, taking the envelope. "Huh. I wonder what's going..."

Soyogi Mitsurugi raised an eyebrow, her glasses briefly seeming to opaque.

Karin opened the letter, letting her fellow shrine maiden do her little mysterious air. The first few lines were the usual sort of fairly rote response in a formal letter.

That was when the rest of it penetrated. "Oh! He's up for chunin?"

"We have an invitation," said Soyogi seriously. "It would be most impolite to decline unless there were truly pressing business elsewhere."

* * *

><p>"Well, it's a first effort," said Keri as the girl tried out her new strength.<p>

"I kinda expected more," said Naruto.

Hinata blinked, turning to stare at Naruto.

"Her strength is roughly four times what it was, and her durability is somewhat greater," said Keri. "For a first effort with the jutsu, not bad. Part of this is Hinata's own control, now that she's exhibiting some."

Hinata had the grace to look embarassed at that reminder.

"She's keeping a knot of it stored away," noted Keri. "Just be careful you don't release that all at once. It'll carry some of your regular chakra with it and leave you exhausted."

"Ye-yes," agreed Hinata.

"That's an interesting idea there," noted Keri. "Why are you doing that though?"

Hinata considered saying how Naruto's chakra made her feel. How having it within her gave her a serious case of warm-and-fuzzy. However if she said something like that, her father might hear of it. Best not to say that then. "It just... came to me."

* * *

><p>The assembled ninja looked towards the board, then sized up their competition for the third part of the Chunin Exams.<p>

[Hinata Hyuga - Neji Hyuga]  
>[Sakura Haruno - Kiba Inuzuka]<br>[Naruto Uzumaki - Shino Aburame]  
>[Choji Akimichi - Ino Yamanaka]<br>[Sasuke Uchiha - Tenten]  
>[Shikamaru Nara - Temari]<br>[Gaara - Rock Lee]  
>[Kankuro - winner of Uzumaki vs Aburame fight]<p>

They had a month to prepare, and very little idea of what their opponent was capable of.

* * *

><p>The two ninja landed in the cavern, one remaining silent while the other gave a single exclamation.<p>

"Wow."

The other simply stayed back, letting the other examine the walls. When touching a wall caused the odd lettering on it to shift, the speaker repeated the earlier comment before beginning muttered comments as he worked on analyzing things.

Finally, after what seemed like a long time, the second one broke his silence. "You see?"

Jiraiya nodded to the Hokage. "This is big all right. What's with the glowing crystals anyway?"

"I asked the shrine priestess to arrange these, to make it easier for when an old man had to come down and check on things."

Jiraiya blinked considered the fluted brass pillars topped with crystal cylinders, each glowing with a soft white light. "Neat trick."

"Indeed," said Hiruzen Sarutobi. "Here we are warded against being overheard, and there's a few things I need to speak to you about."

* * *

><p>There were more than a few of the Sunagakure ninja present when the Suna-nin returned to their village and Temari prepared her report.<p>

"The intel we've gathered so far is mostly correct," began Temari. "Therefore I'll just go over the basic differences that I learned in my infiltration mission."

"What's to know? They're weak and rely on teamwork," offered a chunin.

"Idiot," said Gaara, glaring at the man and causing that individual to foresee a possibility of a messy death.

"Gaara's right," said Temari. "They're strong enough that I saw someone who had medic-nin techniques, enormous physical strength and chakra, and extensive fuuinjutsu knowledge - who is employed as a shrine priestess and forbidden from interfering in shinobi affairs."

"If she's that good, why is she not on an active shinobi roster?" asked another chunin.

"No idea, other than perhaps she's retired from active duty," said Temari. "Might be some psych problem."

There were a few nods at that. A lot of high-level jonin had some psychological difficulties crop up, some more crippling than others. It wasn't unknown for some to end up being retired due to being a danger to others or themselves if they were active.

"Thing is - they've got enough powerful ninja in their ranks that they don't NEED someone like that. I've marked it on the map. Hiryu Shrine. Avoid it if you have any missions in Konoha," said Temari. "The shrine priestess is Keri-something Uzumaki. The first name was some foreign word, but she goes by Keri. Bright red hair."

"She makes Mother... cautious," noted Gaara aloud.

This had the effect of making a number of the shinobi presence freak out in a very quiet manner. Those who didn't understand the reference didn't react quite so notably except to observe their compatriots and conclude that avoiding that particular shrine might be a good idea.

"The shrine priestess has a nephew, Naruto Uzumaki," said Temari. "Gaara's age, blond hair, blue eyes. Whisker-like marks on his cheeks. Active genin. Gaara put him in a Sand Coffin and Burial. He broke out."

Another stir at that from those who knew what that meant.

"If you go up against him, avoid direct melee," said Temari. "He's strong, durable, and apparently his clan has a contract to summon dragons. BIG dragons."

"We saw something like that," confessed Kankuro. "We were some distance away, but we heard the screams and found where something had basically made a road through their forest. Footprints were pretty much what you'd expect. Found out later at least two teams of ambushers were trampled."

"Right, but he's vulnerable to poisons," said Temari. "Kankuro, of the three of us - this means you've got the best chance of beating him in the exams."

"What do you know about your own opponent?" asked Baki.

"Nara. We've got a file on them," said Temari. "Notes say they're given to being brilliant but lazy, they're using clan techniques that have been passed down for generations - to the extent those techniques come easier to them than to anyone outside their clan. Almost bordering on a kekkei genkai by this point according to some sources. Don't know how good this guy is because he's apparently got the Nara laziness and then some. They can use shadows to bind a person's body and control their movements."

Gaara stirred.

"Gaara's opponent is some sort of taijutsu specialist," said Temari. "Only problem I can see is if the judges take off points for killing your opponent too quickly."

"Right, and the Uzumaki is fighting an Aburame with me fighting the winner." Kankuro nodded. "Poisons work on either."

* * *

><p>"Well, it was certainly impressive that all three of you made it to the final round, that doesn't happen very often," admitted Kakashi, rubbing the back of his head. "Which probably says something about my skills as an instructor."<p>

"Sakura is going to be ready for her fight?" asked Naruto. "She really didn't look so good."

"Whose fault was that?" asked Kakashi. "If she'd just accepted the chakra she'd be fine. As it is, she should be out of the hospital in about two weeks."

"That's good, no wait - that's bad," noted Naruto. "She'll miss two of four weeks to train?"

"Anko Mitarashi has graciously offered to take her in," noted Kakashi, "for some extensive training."

"Wasn't that the crazy proctor who was handing out the Heaven and Earth Scrolls?" asked Naruto.

"Yeah, that's the one," admitted Kakashi.

"Poor Sakura," said Naruto, putting one hand over his heart.

"I'll be training Sasuke as our affinities are similar," said Kakashi.

"Wait one moment. Who am **I** to get training from?" asked Naruto.

* * *

><p>Keri was quite aware of the ANBU who had accumulated around her shrine. Seven. Three jonin level, four of that odd 'special jonin' level. Then two more, one familiar.<p>

"Hokage?" asked Keri.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded to the "shrine maiden" as the ANBU guards settled into place around the periphery.

The large man walking beside the Hokage was currently unknown to her.

"You will be handling Naruto's training?" asked the Hokage.

"Unless you have someone better in mind," said Keri.

"Actually, I was thinking that having someone capable of training him as a ninja might be best," said the Hokage. "If you don't mind, I believe your office is best to discuss this."

"I don't know if I'm going to even do this," said the large man. "I mean I have my research."

"Ah, a research ninja?" asked Keri. "This sounds interesting."

Jiraiya was a super-pervert. Part of this was his nature, part of it was an act. There were people who knew him well enough he could set aside the more exaggerated aspects of that mask, or he could set it aside when his interests had been piqued in other manners.

The cave he'd been shown had been covered in writing that changed when touched. Something living had to touch the writing, a rock or scroll couldn't trigger whatever shifted the odd symbols.

The writing itself was obviously ideographic in nature but not one he was familiar with. When he'd asked the Hokage, the answer had come back that the language was called 'Drakonic' and that there were only two people who could read it in the village. One was Naruto, the other this Keristrasza Uzumaki.

Looking at her now, in the traditional shrine priestess clothing of long red skirt and white haori, Jiraiya noted the brilliant red hair that was typical of the Uzumaki line. There was a bit of a resemblance to Kushina in fact, not just the hair either.

Which meant that he had to beware a temper like Kushina, whose nickname of the Red Hot Habanero was sufficient indication that this was someone whose temper could rival Tsunade.

He was still working through some of the revelations that Sarutobi had come out with in that cave. Even as they went inside one of the shrine's little buildings and sat down around a table, he was pondering various aspects of that briefing.

"So... judging from how much staring you're doing," said Keri as she poured tea, "you're either going to ask me out or Lord Hokage has shared certain information with you."

"It's a little hard to wrap my head around certain aspects of this," admitted Jiraiya.

"One simply copes when one finds one's life complicated by such things as elder deities," said Keristrasza with a nod. "Even if one disbelieves those aspects, dealing with the demonstrable facts is the best approach."

"So you have difficulties with parts of this too?" asked Jiraiya.

"Just that some entity has the ability to substantially alter the past is somewhat concerning," said the shrine priestess. "This is not the case with such places as the Caverns of Time or some of the other time-shifting magic. Not to mention that I was slain after undergoing tortures and runes of control and domination were carved into my flesh. All undone in an instant? No, even I find that level of power hard to comprehend. And I suspect I have more clue into that than anyone present - no insult intended."

"How so?" asked Jiraiya, curious.

"I am literally thousands of years old," said Keri, contemplating the depths of her teacup. "Sometimes it seems that the life of a mortal is but a shooting star in the night sky. Brilliant, sometimes inspiring, but so brief and easily missed."

Jiraiya exchanged a glance with the Hokage as the shrine priestess seemed for a moment lost in her own thoughts.

"Naruto needs to learn more of his new heritage and abilities from me, as there is literally no one else he can learn these things from," said Keri finally.

"True, so what I'm suggesting is that you train him in the mornings," said the Hokage. "Jiraiya here trains him in ninjutsu and taijutsu in the afternoon and evening."

"Ah," said Keri with a nod. "I think you should concentrate on ninjutsu. His strength and durability make normal taijutsu training problematic. There are a few things though, that I really should warn you about."

"You don't have a problem with that?" asked Jiraiya.

"No, Naruto's path is his own to forge - and he has chosen the path of the ninja," said Keri. "Though I do have a question for you."

"Really?" asked Jiraiya. "What exactly is that?"

Keri looked absolutely serious, even pulling herself up to look as stern as possible. "On page 212 of Icha Icha Paradise, you have Makiko refer to her betrothal to the elderly Lord Nakajima as... is something wrong?"

Jiraiya picked himself off the floor, having fallen out of his chair for some reason. "Uhm. No. You've read Icha Icha Paradise?"

"I find the sex scenes overly repetitive but two of the minor characters are intriguing enough for me to overcome my distaste for such," said Keri. "Why?"

"Oh, just... a little surprised," said Jiraiya as he digested that factoid.

* * *

><p>"So, I can't train all three of you," said Kakashi, sounding slightly embarassed as he rubbed the back of his head with one hand. "Sakura is still in the hospital, but she'll be training with Anko Mitarashi. Sasuke will be training with me."<p>

"Do we know much about the girl I'll be fighting in the first round?" asked Sasuke.

"Other than what we saw in Wave? No." Kakashi shrugged slightly. "She's primarily a weapon-user from what I've seen. No, I'm much more concerned with the one you'll be facing afterwards. It'll be either Shikamaru Nara or Temari of the Sands. Naruto, you'll be training with your Aunt Keri in the morning, then you'll spend the rest of the day with another trainer."

"Huh? Why?" asked Naruto.

"Because your Aunt Keri has a regular job and can't spend all day training you and that independent clone you made," said Kakashi. "Besides, she is not a ninja and it's only appropriate for a ninja to be involved in your training."

"What kind of training am I going to get?" asked Sasuke, curious.

"Some polishing of your weapon skills, particularly melee weapons," said Kakashi. "Plus a couple of ninjutsu that may be more handy for your second round."

* * *

><p>Shikaku Nara looked across the board at his son, then back to the pieces laid out on that board.<p>

"Do we have any intel on my opponent?" asked Shikamaru.

"Nothing that isn't classified," responded Shikaku.

"Such a bother," noted Shikamaru.

"True," agreed Shikaku.

"Judging from the giant ougi-style fan she carries, I'm guessing she's a wind-stylist," noted Shikamaru after a few minutes.

"That would be a likely conclusion," admitted Shikaku.

"Probably ranged attacks and defenses," said Shikamaru. "Though she seems the sort who also does pretty well in short-range taijutsu."

"Yeah, she seemed to be the troublesome sort like that," agreed Shikaku.

"Hmmm," hmmmed Shikamaru, moving a rook into place. "Heard that she was hanging around Team 7, lost some sort of bet and had to play maid for awhile. They might have some insight."

"In the second round, you'll need to fight either Tenten of Team Gai or Sasuke Uchiha of Team Kakashi," noted Shikaku. "If you don't lose against the Suna kunoichi, that is."

"It might be less troublesome if I don't win," noted Shikamaru.

"If you lose that fight, your mother will more than make up for any lack of 'troublesome' - I'm pretty sure," noted Shikaku.

"Ah," said Shikamaru. "Yes, that would be a bother."

* * *

><p>"So, Aunt Keri," said Naruto, looking around the shrine area and seeing 'Naruko' standing on a narrow plank and doing sword kata, "what kind of training are we doing?"<p>

"A ninja named Jiraiya will be training you after noon," said Keri. "What I'm planning is this."

"Eh?" asked Naruto after his Aunt went into an odd taijutsu stance. "Taijutsu?"

"Yes," said Keristrasza. "A bit of that for now. Begin."

Naruto was used to taking hits since his dragonization. When his Aunt Keri landed a punch on his jaw, he discovered that he could still feel pain and get little squiggly motes in the corner of his vision.

As well as demolish large rocks and trees as he went flying from the impact.

Determining that 'not getting hit' was better than 'getting hit' - Naruto quickly began trying to block or dodge.

* * *

><p>"Your morning training must have been difficult," said Jiraiya easily as he looked over his student. Who honestly looked like he had gotten into a scuffle with Tsunade.<p>

"It was," admitted Naruto. "Getting kicked outside the village was a new experience."

"Well, as I understand it, you've got some powerful chakra, so we're going back outside the village in order to see what you can do." Jiraiya smirked at the boy. "Try to impress me."

"I think I can manage impressive," admitted Naruto.

"Also, I want to see your other form," said Jiraiya.

"Ah, well," said Naruto, looking around at the fragile buildings and such.

"Outside the village, kid," Jiraiya reminded Naruto. "Way outside."

"Okay, I guess," said Naruto. "Why?"

"Because Kakashi told me about that 'dragon breath' thing and it kinda sounded like something I've seen," said Jiraiya. "I want to confirm it though."

"Huh, okay," said Naruto. He had a few questions himself.

"So, I hear you're gonna have to fight an Aburame," said Jiraiya, starting towards the edge of the village.

"Yeah, he uses little bugs that kinda itch," summed up Naruto.

"Huh, I wonder what's that about," mused Jiraiya, his tone speculative.

* * *

><p>"This is not a good match-up," summed up Shino Aburame as he looked over the information he'd been able to acquire regarding Naruto Uzumaki.<p>

Shibi Aburame nodded once. "This happens, both in the Exams and in the field. For example, in the last war I had to fight against someone who could shroud himself in flame. Direct combat with kikai would have resulted in complete loss of colonies involved."

"I see," said Shino. "How then did you prevail?"

"Just because our known speciality is the kikai colonies and techniques based on them, does not mean that we are incapable of using other methods," said Shibi. He held up an object.

"A kunai with an explosive tag?" asked Shino, thinking that was kind of disappointing.

"Our colonies encourage us to avoid excessive emotional response," stated Shibi. "Calm reason benefits us."

"Ah," said Shino, seeing that point.

* * *

><p>Kankuro knew his part. Knew what he needed to do. He needed to fight someone who was tough enough to endure his brother's instant-kill attack and burst free.<p>

The Aburame had a file he could access regarding their known abilities. After perusing it, Kankuro thought it VERY unlikely he'd be facing the Aburame after the Uzumaki-Aburame fight.

So, he had to use a poison to do it. There were some pretty strong poisons out there, but it had to be something that remained active for a long period. If it were raining at the time of the exams, Konohagakure getting quite a bit more rain than Sunagakure, then the blades or needles with the poison had to be protected from that rain.

Kankuro considered the little yellow vial. The venom of the king scorpion, a scorpion roughly the size of his forearm. Despite the size of the scorpion, the venom wasn't particularly deadly. It WAS, however, one of the best poisons for making your opponent collapse for an extended period. No, if someone were as strong as the boy he was facing - he'd need something stronger. Which usually meant more expensive.

The red striped vial was of the hand-sized death's head scorpion, so named because roughly half of the scorpions had a sort-of skull-like pattern on their backs. Mainly because those who did not have that pattern were usually misidentified as the mottled red scorpion and killed as less useful.

Expensive but exceedingly deadly. It was said that a single drop of death's head venom would kill a rampaging elephant within two minutes. Elephants being a near-mythical monster the size of a house rumored to exist somewhere down South.

Kankuro decided to use it despite the cost. He'd just keep it ready in case the Konoha nin could be snatched and stuck inside Crow, then the internal spikes would jab him with it.

Still, he'd need at least two other poisons. One non-fatal for potential captures, the other to be something that could be expelled in a cloud for people who were a bit tougher or armored. Like the kid he'd be fighting.

Gas though - that was a two-stage poison. He had a mechanism for mixing the two ingredients and then expelling the cloud, but keeping it clean after use was a right royal pain.

Kankuro nodded and began disassembling the mechanism. It would have to work perfectly when the time came.

* * *

><p>Warm.<p>

Resting within her was a warm knot of chakra. Naruto's chakra. An intense chakra, but not too hot and not too cold.

Instead, she got the impression of wind. She wasn't sure WHY she got the impression of wind, just that when she focussed on it and sought that warm place within her - she got the impression of a vast forest whose leaves were stirred by wind.

Also of winged-cat-lizards, but as it involved Naruto's summoned dragon she was pretty sure where THAT part came from.

She had to fight her cousin Neji. She'd lose of course. She always lost against Neji. Neji was acclaimed. A genius. Extremely skilled despite being of the Branch Family. A once-in-a-generation level of talent.

Whereas she was just Hinata. The frequent failure. The not-so-skilled. Even her little sister was more skilled, more talented, more of a natural using the family martial arts style.

Which meant that she'd lose, but she couldn't just quit. Naruto would be watching. Naruto who had never given up even before he'd discovered his bloodline.

No, feeling the knot of warmth within her, Hinata decided that she would NOT just give up. She would give a good showing before Neji beat her.

Training at home meant that her family would be watching, so she'd come here. To the Hiryu Shrine. Naruko, the cousin of Naruto they'd encountered at Fortune Beach, was over there training in the sword under the eye of Keri. There was room to train though, so she could just come over here and...

"Excuse me, Hinata isn't it?"

"EEP!"

Hinata looked at Keri, then back at where Naruko was still training. How had the shrine priestess managed to move that quickly without so much as a pleat or ribbon being out of place?

"Sorry if I startled you," said Keri. "If you're here to train, why don't you train against Naruko?"

"B-but she's training in the sword and my opponent in the Chunin Exams is Neji and..."

The shrine priestess wagged a finger at her. "You need to learn some other skills for when your Byakugan and Jyuuken are ineffective. Just think of it as helping out a colleague if that sits better with your family."

"Ah," said Hinata. "I suppose?"

* * *

><p>"Summoning!" said Naruto, performing the jutsu that formed a shadow clone as he transformed.<p>

"Yeesh, be glad nobody sees you do that with a Byakugan or Sharingan running, gaki," said Jiraiya. "They'd know immediately what you're doing isn't a summoning. Though I suppose you're pretty inexperienced with it."

"That obvious?" asked Naruto, who thought he'd nailed it.

"Yeah," said Jiraiya, nodding. "If I didn't know the truth I'd still know something was seriously off with that."

"Well, I'm getting better," rumbled the dragon.

"Now, let's see you use that dragon breath attack," said Jiraiya, looking around for a suitable target. "How about... Earth Technique: Earth Wall!"

"Uhm," said the shadow clone riding the dragon. "That's awfully close and fragile-looking."

"Hmmm, well we can back away from the target, I suppose." Jiraiya thought for a moment then went through a different set of hand-signs. "Summoning Jutsu: Rashomon Gate!"

Both the dragon and the clone nodded. That didn't look quite so fragile.

"How far should we back away? I still need to be able to see the dragonbreath jutsu at work," asked Jiraiya.

In the end they went back a good twenty yards. Then Naruto formed and spat the ball of whatever-it-was at the iron gate.

Jiraiya went up to the gate, examined it, then dismissed it. Finding a chunk of earth wall that was suitably sized for him to sit on, he used it as a chair while thinking things over.

"Okay," said Jiraiya. "Minato would go crazy with this."

"Who?" asked the dragon.

"The Fourth Hokage. You're spitting a Rasengan," said Jiraiya, forming a sphere of chakra in his hand. "His other signature technique."

"What?" asked the dragon.

"Kakashi is one of the few other people who knows the technique besides myself, but it's fairly obvious why he didn't recognize it at first," said Jiraiya. "Your Rasengan is huge and not tightly focussed - and it's elementally charged."

"What?" repeated the dragon.

"Not only that, but dual-element," said Jiraiya. "Not only does it cut away things in very small sections - that dissolving things look - but there's a fire-element involved that follows the wind. The effect looks like acid, but isn't. I could see the small burning marks in the cuts from the wind element."

"What?" repeated the dragon.

"So if I can train you to do the Rasengan in human form," mused Jiraiya, "then you can charge it like that and have a jutsu that..."

"Gonna be the best dang door-opener in Fire Country?" asked the clone with a grin.

"Pretty much," agreed Jiraiya. "It's going to be up there with the Dust Release technique as far as devastating jutsu goes. And if you manage that, there's a good chance I'll be able to back engineer how you do it and I'll have an improvement in the jutsu myself. May take a year or two, but it makes this a win situation for both of us."

"Then we should get started," said both the dragon and the clone simultaneously.

* * *

><p>Jiraiya had managed to keep his jaw from hanging open and creaking in the wind, covering his reaction when he'd realized just what he was seeing.<p>

One of the most powerful attacks of a bijuu or tailed beast was the bijuu-dama. It was their most devastating attack, combining white and black chakra and expelling it as a sphere of destructive force.

Working out how to do something similar to that had led Minato Namikaze to develop the Rasengan.

Now Naruto had just revealed that he could do something similar. Not nearly so powerful as the bijuu attack, true. That didn't mean that it was less effective or useful, it depended mainly on the target. Against an army, the Tailed Beast Ball would be better as it covered a larger area and was more destructive. A smaller target area would be better dealt with by this dragon breath attack.

The basic effect of this ryu-dama was that it exploded on contact with something. The outer layer was the wind chakra, with an effect like thousands of tiny knives gouging and cutting. Then the fire chakra followed up, searing along in the path blazed for it.

Jiraiya blinked as he thought of someone he knew and regenerative techniques. Yeah, that might just be useful.

Well, time to tell someone who wanted to know. If nothing else, the expression might be amusing.

* * *

><p>Kakashi listened, nodding as things made sense when they were explained out.<p>

"Wait, it went THROUGH a Rashomon?" asked Kakashi as that bit was brought up.

"Yes, not immediately," noted Jiraiya. "It burrowed into the iron gate and then exploded. Taking out my Earth Wall at the same time as burning the hole through. Might have to talk to him about doing shape manipulation. Change it from sphere to a drill shape to better penetrate armored targets."

Kakashi sagged from where he was sitting on the ledge of the Hokage Tower. A sudden image of a horde of Naruto all pulling off drill-Rasengan charged with elements of air and fire.

"Just imagine the uses in demolition," said Jiraiya.

"So... what do you have him working on now?" asked Kakashi, his voice betraying that he was dreading the answer.

"Set him doing the steps for Rasengan in human form," said Jiraiya. "He was able to pull out the chakra immediately and got the shape on the third try. The difficult part will be getting rid of the elemental properties as the Rasengan as it is - is not ranged. Having it explode in your hand is painful - even for Naruto. If someone more normal had tried that, they'd be minus a hand."

Kakashi winced. "I better caution Sasuke then."

"The Uchiha?" asked Jiraiya.

"If he tries to copy that jutsu," said Kakashi.

"Ah, good point," admitted Jiraiya. "Though I wouldn't think he could since there are no hand-signs involved to copy."

"Anything else I should know?" asked Kakashi.

"Did you know that shrine priestess reads my books?" asked Jiraiya. "Though apparently she reads nearly everything she comes across. Bibliovore I suppose, or would that be librovore?"

"Not literally I hope," said Kakashi, hand drifting near a side-pouch.

"No, not literally," said Jiraiya. "She had marked several pages where she had questions regarding character motivations and little details like the old red kunai in Tactics."

"There was an 'old red kunai' in Tactics?" asked Kakashi. "Oh, wait. You mean - ah."

"Yes, I spent a full paragraph on that and it was revealed that it was important in a later volume. She used an unfamiliar term though, a 'Chekhov's Gun' whatever that meant." Jiraiya nodded. "Intriguing."

* * *

><p>"Okay, you two, time to take a break." Keri threw a towel first to Hinata and then another to Naruko.<p>

"Thank you," said Hinata, bowing and wondering if she could get to the reason she'd come.

"After you cool off, Naruko - I want you to work on balance and meditation using the exercise I showed you earlier."

"But I already did that for an hour today!"

"And this time no sneaking off to Ichiraku's."

Hinata noticed how pale Naruko had suddenly gotten.

"You think I didn't notice because I was working with Naruto?" asked Keri.

"Uhm. I'll get right on that," offered Naruko.

"Meanwhile, Hinata, was there something else you wanted?" asked Keri.

"Uhm, yes, your library?" asked Hinata.

"Oh, certainly," said Keri. "I don't think you'll be able to read some of the books, they're written in a very old language, but there are scrolls and tomes on techniques that might interest you."

"Ah, please," indicated Hinata.

* * *

><p>"Whew," said Naruto as he walked home. It was late, Ichiraku's would probably be closing soon if he hadn't missed them already. "That was frakking exhausting."<p>

"Well, doesn't that work out nice for US!"

"Eh?" asked Naruto as three people dropped down in front of him from the rooftops. "Whoever you guys are, I really don't have time for this."

"'Whoever we are'? Listen to the newbie!" said one of the three. "I'll show you to respect your superiors!"

"Hang on," said Naruto. "You look familiar."

"You do remember me?" asked the masked and glasses-wearing ninja.

"Uhm, no not really," admitted Naruto, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yoroi Akado!" declared that ninja.

"Oh yeah!" said Naruto, snapping his fingers.

"Misumi Tsurugi!" declared the second ninja.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. Yeah. That's right."

"And me?" asked the third ninja.

"No clue," said Naruto.

"First honest thing he's said yet," said the third ninja.

"Well, that isn't a leaf symbol on your headband," noted Naruto, "so I'm guessing you're from..."

"Yes?" prompted the third nin.

"The Village Hidden In Music?" tried Naruto.

"You're an idiot," said the third nin, "though apparently not quite as much of an idiot as I had heard."

"Oh, uhm, thanks, I guess," said Naruto. "You mind if I go now? I'm really hungry."

"Well, let's just make him eat his teeth!" said Yoroi.

"They're a bit peeved at you," said the third ninja. "It seems that your dragon ran over them while they were trying to lay an ambush."

"Oh?" said Naruto, admitting to himself that he hadn't paid much attention to what he had run over. "Sorry?"

"Not good enough by half!" said Yoroi.

"What about you?" Naruto asked the third ninja. "Did my dragon run you over?"

"No, I'm here because of other reasons," said the third.

"Ah, that certainly clears it up," said Naruto, his voice indicating just further confusion.

"Which one of us gets to pound on him first?" said Yoroi.

"Rock, paper, scissors?" asked Misumi.

"What is this? Grade school?" asked the third ninja.

"Oh, shut up, Zaku," replied Yoroi.

"One two three! Rock!"

"Paper?"

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

"That isn't..." Yoroi and Misumi stopped and looked at where Naruto had slapped the ground.

"Dragon beats rock and paper," said Naruto, standing next to the dragon.

"You summoned that big thing in the middle of the street?!" asked Yoroi.

"Well, if I summoned a dragon on top of the roof, it might cave in," pointed out Naruto.

"Oh, that makes sense," admitted Yoroi before shaking his head. "No! You are completely missing the point!"

"**What point is that?**" rumbled the dragon, giving a small snort of flaming cinders.

"It talked?" asked Yoroi.

"It's a summons, of course they talk," complained Zaku.

"Oh right," said Yoroi. "Stay out of this, dragon. This is between ninja."

"Besides, if he moves around in this narrow street, he's going to burst the buildings on either side," pointed out Zaku.

"**Oh,**" said the dragon, checking. "**Well, crap.**"

Naruto patted the side of his shadow clone dragon, having decided to try this per the advice of not sticking to a single tactic. "Go ahead and dismiss. We'll work on this later."

"**Right boss,**" said the dragon, poofing away into smoke.

"Now, if you'll just go ahead, I'd suggest Mister Akado start," said Zaku.

"Quite right!" said Yoroi Akado, rushing forward. "Now you'll know how superior MY jutsu is!"

Naruto saw someone trying to grapple him and didn't see where this was necessarily avoidable. He couldn't see what the other guy could do if he avoided it anyway. Instead the opposing nin grabbed his arm with one hand and put the other on Naruto's face. "Uhm? What?"

"Now I just suck all the chakra out of you!" said Yoroi.

A few seconds passed with not much happening.

"Did you start yet?" asked Naruto.

"I'm pulling chakra out but it's..." Yoroi said, sounding as if he were doing so through clenched teeth and considerable pain.

"What exactly are you doing?" asked Naruto, reaching up and pulling the hand away from his face. "I can feel you doing something but it's really faint."

"Ugh, ack," said Yoroi, collapsing.

"Is he okay?" asked Naruto. "He's twitching a lot and his hands look burned or something."

"Did you even notice that Misumi wrapped himself around you and is trying to crush the life from your body?" asked Zaku.

"Oh, is that what he's doing?" asked Naruto. "Oh good."

"Ungh, how is that good," groaned Misumi. "My soft body modification means you can't escape!"

"I was afraid you were trying to do something hentai here," said Naruto. "I'm not into yaoi."

"Try this then!" said Misumi, straining further and further. _CRACK!_

Naruto blinked as the second attacker was now lying on the ground whimpering.

"I can't believe you two losers," said Zaku, looking down at the two fallen Konoha ninja. "He isn't even bloody fighting back and he beat you two!"

"Is that it?" asked Naruto.

"Yeah, pretty much, sorry kid," said Zaku, stepping back into the shadows.

"Man, and I didn't even get any ramen," complained Naruto.

* * *

><p>"We're just letting him go?" asked Dosu.<p>

"Check your sound wards," said Zaku.

"Yeah they're... someone put a hole in one without disturbing the rest of them?" Dosu cocked his head. "Someone noticed us. Who could do that?"

"Don't know, but we're too damn close to that shrine for me to be comfortable," said Zaku. "I don't know what's up there, but something creeps me the hell out."

"Hmmm. You may have something there," said Dosu. "That's the side with the hole."

"Where's Kin anyway?" asked Zaku.

"Making sure we're not being followed," said Dosu. "We'll get the kid later."

NEXT: Of toads and dragons and summonings, oh my.


	14. Chapter 14: Hiatus

**Spiral Dragon**

by Greylle

chapter 14: Of toads and dragons DISCLAIMER: Don't own Naruto, don't own a dragon, couldn't afford the food bills anyway, don't really own that much actually.  
>NOTE: things continue to deviate from canon, hopefully in a humorous manner.<p>

* * *

><p>Hiruzen Sarutobi looked into the cell and made a disgusted noise.<p>

"Two idiots who decided to rough up Naruto Uzumaki," said Ibiki Morino. "Following the appearance of a large dragon in a street too small for it, three ANBU were attracted to the scene and were able to observe from a distance."

"Did Naruto do anything to provoke them?" asked the Hokage.

"Actually, he managed to get them to defeat themselves," said Ibiki. "That's Yoroi Akado. His clan technique is a chakra drain technique. He tried to suck out Naruto's chakra."

"Is that what burned his arms?" asked the Hokage.

"Yeah, major damage to the skin and soft tissue," said Ibiki, pulling a clipboard off a hook on the wall and glancing at it. "Looks like the chakra pathways are basically cooked. If we had a medic of Tsunade's level, he might be able to mold chakra again. Otherwise his career is over even if we overlook him attacking another active genin for a petty reason."

"What of the other?" asked Sarutobi, his voice as dispassionate as if discussing a termite infestation in a wooden outbuilding. He was fully into his Hokage mode, the commander-in-chief of the ninja forces. If either showed any signs of being a traitor - they'd never see the end of their recovery period.

"Misumi Tsurugi, his clan techniques revolve around 'double-jointed' grappling," said Ibiki, the T&I specialist smiling in a way that might cause Academy students to scream. "Like a snake, he wrapped around Uzumaki and tried to constrict around him. Involuntary muscle movements like shifting his stance to compensate for Tsurugi's weight - the joints ended up popping loose entirely."

"Really?" asked the Hokage. "Which joints?"

"All of them," said Ibiki. "Really, I can't get much information out of either of them right now. Both of them are in sufficient amounts of pain that anything I can do would be wasted effort."

"Anyone else involved?" asked the Hokage eventually.

"ANBU reported one Sound-nin who appeared to be egging on these two idiots," said Ibiki, putting the clipboard back on the hook. "By the time we identified Zaku Abumi, he and his team were already out of Konoha and heading Southeast."

"Transfer them to the hospital but keep an ANBU guard stationed for each of them," said the Hokage. "They'll recover faster that way, and then you can get some answers out of them."

* * *

><p>"Kin? I couldn't help but notice you haven't spoken since we left Konoha. That and your hair turned white."<p>

Kin Tsuchi slowly turned towards her team-mate. Zaku couldn't help but notice the eyes. Bloodshot, staring.

"You went into the shrine, didn't you?" asked Dosu Kinuta.

Kin's head nodded in a twitchy fashion.

"What could be so bad?" asked Zaku.

Kin twitched HARD.

"Orochimaru told us to avoid the shrine," noted Dosu. "Is what's in that shrine anywhere near as scary as Orochimaru?"

"Yes," said Kin, shivering.

"Wow, I didn't think you were easily intimidated," began Zaku.

"You didn't see," said Kin. "Now I can't unsee."

"Unsee what?" asked Zaku.

* * *

><p>"A genjutsu?" asked Naruko.<p>

"Yes, one of my experiments in such," said Keri.

"Whatever it was, she screamed for almost an hour and almost clawed her own eyes out," said Naruko. "What was in there that would do that?"

"Not entirely sure," admitted Keri. "As I said, it was an experiment."

Naruko was silent for a moment. "Hard to tell if it was a success or not then."

"Agreed," simply said Keri. "Now if we're done. Practice."

"What was Hinata reading anyway?" said Naruko as she slid into stance for doing lunges with the weighted sword.

"That was the curious thing," said Keri. "She was reading old draconic scripts. Must be a side-effect of the way she's storing that ball of dragon chakra inside her. If she keeps it up, I'll have to see about having her sort out some of those scrolls. Been too busy to do it myself."

* * *

><p>Jiraiya sat back and observed, which he really felt was an under-rated skill for ninja. Too many ninja felt the need for showy and impressive jutsu, especially some signature jutsu that they practiced to the point where they could pull it off with minimal hand-signs and chakra expenditure.<p>

No, observation was a key skill. Being able to hang back, out of sight, and see exactly what was happening before acting was something more ninja could benefit from.

Not that flashy jutsu didn't have its time or place.

In this case he was observing Naruto taking himself through a D-Rank delivery mission because he needed the cash for the humongous amount of food he was putting away on a daily basis. Which was more and more varied than he'd apparently been able to do prior to the dragonification.

So much so that ads for an "All You Can Eat" or "Buffet Special" had added the name Uzumaki alongside Akimichi as to the exclusion list.

That wasn't all that he was observing though.

"Was that?"

"Yeah. I heard his team did quite well in the first two parts of the Chunin Exam."

"Good, he started out such an annoyance. Nice to see him turning himself around like that."

Jiraiya settled back on the roof, smiling in a way that had nothing to do with being a pervert or one of the Leaf's Densetsu No Sannin.

* * *

><p>Ninja village + Combat Test + Known Opponent. That pretty much meant that spying was involved.<p>

"Okay, we know that Sakura Haruno received a Curse Seal and will be trained by Anko Mitarashi," said his elder sister.

"Yeah, I saw some of what she did and remember what she was like in the Academy," said Kiba. "This is gonna be over so fast it ain't funny."

"I know something about Mitarashi," said Hana Inuzuka.

"Who IS that anyway?" asked Kiba. "Name sounds familiar."

"Trenchcoat. Crazier than a bag of wet cats."

"Oh, HER," said Kiba. "The proctor for the second part of the Exam."

"She does snake-based techniques, is really good with poisons, and has a reputation for being an utter sadist," said Hana. "All of which makes her an effective kunoichi."

"Oh, so she's training Sakura," said Kiba, his voice turning thoughtful. "Meaning I gotta watch out for anything she throws at me or smoke bombs and the like. Poisons."

"Good to see you catch on quicker than your Academy scores would indicate," drily said Hana. "Because she IS going to be trained by Anko - you have to watch for poisons but you also have to keep in mind she's got a Curse Seal."

"What's that do anyway?" asked Kiba.

"Not entirely sure, other than it is considered very bad news," said Hana. "I'd guess that it increases the influence of one's darker emotions and provides an adrenal effect."

* * *

><p>Sakura shifted as the nightmares began to loosen their hold on her.<p>

"Counter-Seal holding."

"Yeah, as long as she doesn't actively try to break it or give in to the temptation - it should hold."

"Good."

Sakura lifted an eyelid, feeling as if it weighed more than half her body.

"Well, good morning Haruno-san," said a chipper voice. "Don't try to move, you'll need rest for several days yet."

"Ngh," tried Sakura.

"You have excellent chakra control I'm told, but not sufficient chakra reserves for the Curse Seal. That pretty much drained you of available chakra, to the point you nearly died."

"Gk," managed Sakura.

"Water? Sure."

Sakura felt the straw being placed near her mouth and managed to suck on it for a few seconds before another wave of exhaustion struck.

"Go back to sleep, Haruno-san. There's a button by your left hand. Press it if you wake and need anything."

"Thn."

"You're welcome, Haruno-san."

* * *

><p>Hinata frowned as she traced out the odd symbols. It was really strange, she knew she didn't know this language but she was making sense of it anyway. It was like that warm ball of chakra she was keeping was whispering to her.<p>

The script was all sharp angles, and some of the words seemed to echo within her when she read them.

_The Thu'um is the Word and the Word is Power. With unrelenting force will doors be unlocked and potential realized._

"Find anything interesting?" asked a voice, causing Hinata to startle.

"Ah, uhm, yes," said Hinata, turning from the one scroll to another. "There's this."

"Well, that's good," said Keri as she set some tags down on the table next to Hinata's seat. "I haven't had a chance to sort through everything yet. If you could label what you can figure out, it'll help me enormously later on."

"Uhm, sure," said Hinata.

"Good," said Keri, who then picked up the scroll Hinata had indicated. "Oh. This IS interesting."

"Is it... what I think it is?" asked Hinata, sounding very uncertain.

"That depends on what you think it is," answered Keri. "But very likely - yes."

* * *

><p>"You know, I wanted you to sign the Toad Contract," said Jiraiya as Naruto went through the weapon forms.<p>

"Why do I even NEED to learn a weapon?" asked Naruto. "And why summon toads?"

"Because there are three major summoning contracts associated with Konohagakure," said Jiraiya, leaning back against a tree and apparently only concerned with the way the leaves moved overhead. "The snakes, which Anko Mitarashi can summon. That's the gal who is training your team-mate. Sakura, I think her name was. Anyway, Tsunade is the contract holder for the slugs. Then there's my contract - the toads."

"Like I said," said Naruto.

"The toads are the historians and lorekeepers of the ninja world," said Jiraiya. "They include knowledge of weapons and techniques, and are the most straight-forward fighters. Snakes are more sneaky ambush types, poison-users and such. Slugs are medically oriented, though whether there is just one slug or thousands depends on who you talk to."

"I don't get it," said Naruto.

"The Fourth Hokage was the last one to sign the Toad Contract," said Jiraiya. "They can be awesome in battle, give good advice when you need it, and have a number of uses. The only reason I'm not pressing you on it is because you've got everyone convinced that you're contracted with the dragons. Having two summoning contracts isn't impossible, but it is very very rare."

"So why a weapon?"

"You are VERY strong," said Jiraiya. "In terms of sheer physical strength, there are very few ninja who could match you. That is to say raw strength and not a technique which emulates it. Ay over in Kumo, possibly Killer Bee, maybe two in Iwa that I've heard of but never actually met. Actually, if it came to a feat of sheer physical strength you might top even them. And, as I mentioned, there are techniques which act like enormous physical strength for combat purposes. But then your ability to apply that strength comes into play."

"Yeah, I noticed I couldn't land a hit on Lee," said Naruto thoughtfully. "He was too fast."

"Yes, and while you are tough enough that he couldn't do serious damage to you," pointed out Jiraiya, "that would not be the case if he were using a weapon - particularly a poisoned one. You will eventually be facing enemies who will do exactly that."

Naruto made a noise in the back of his throat.

"There are weapons a bit more formidable than a kunai or shuriken," said Jiraiya. "I'd expect most ninja throwing a kunai or shuriken or senbon at you aren't going to do much damage unless you get hit in the eyes or similar softer targets. But there are worse weapons. One of the things I'm trying to do here is get a feel for what kind of weapon you can best use."

"Why? So if someone's fighting me with a sword, I can use a sword against 'em?"

"No, mainly so if someone's fighting you with a sword - you have a better idea of what they're going to do," said Jiraiya. "Make a couple of clones. I'll take you through some of the basics."

"Oh, so you're not expecting me to actually use a weapon?" asked Naruto, a little disappointed.

"If I knew a weapon that your strength wouldn't break, I'd certainly consider it," answered Jiraiya. "With that strength, you could use something to fight opponents you want to keep from touching you. There was one Iwa ninja who could sweat acid from his hands, for example. I don't think you're the weapon master type though."

"Oh," said Naruto.

"Well, think about signing the toad contract anyway," said Jiraiya. "It's not like you HAVE to use it during the Exam."

* * *

><p>"Konoha doesn't suspect a thing," said Kabuto. "No details have leaked out."<p>

"Good," said Orochimaru, frowning and looking thoughtful. "I've determined that our little bird here hasn't sung any tunes."

"What happened to her anyway?" asked Kabuto. "I thought the whole 'hair turning white overnight' was just a metaphor."

"No, she viewed something truly horrific, but I haven't gotten nearly the details I wanted," said Orochimaru. "After all, if it was truly that terror-inspiring I could use it myself."

"So, no clue as to what she saw?" asked Kabuto.

"Oh, that much I have managed to get," admitted Orochimaru. "Are you familiar with a drug called 'Silver Dreams' - based on the old Kiri poison 'Mad Silver'?"

"She was hit by that drug?" asked Kabuto. "I thought the fungus that produced the main ingredient was extinct."

"It's one of the few things that all ninja nations agree on," said Orochimaru, "even I wouldn't touch that substance. The substance refuses to follow any specific rules regarding dosage and exposure. You find little pots or vials of it but nothing freshly prepared. The fungus only grew in one place, and that was burned in fire. Attempts to grow it anywhere else failed. There are far less expensive and more entertaining methods of killing someone. No, she wasn't exposed to it - but her experience sounds similar to those who have used that substance."

"The 'too many angles'?" asked Kabuto.

"Yes, that and the Things out in a Void, of a billion hungry mouths whispering awful things," said Orochimaru. "She's pretty much useless for anything requiring steady nerves or a degree of sanity right now."

"Fortunate that you have other uses for her," said Kabuto.

"Indeed," agreed Orochimaru. "Anything else?"

"Just a rumor I'll investigate when I return," said Kabuto. "It might provide more information about that dragon contract."

* * *

><p>"What's the 'Twisting Nether' anyway?" asked Hinata.<p>

"If you're ever anywhere near that, turn your Byakugan off immediately," said Keri. "Where did you run across the reference?"

"This scroll," said Hinata, looking around briefly and then pulling one out of a stack.

"The human mind is not constructed to be able to handle the Twisting Nether," said Keri as she partly unfurled the scroll and looked it over. "Which is basically what this scroll seems to be about. The average person simply sees a fog as their mind protects itself from registering what is actually there. Demons exist there in their true form, not simply the forms they build in the prime material world."

"I see," said Hinata.

"Really?" asked Keri.

"Well, no, not really," admitted Hinata.

"That's good," said Keri.

"It is?" asked Hinata.

"Oh yes," agreed Keri.

"I don't understand that either," admitted Hinata.

"I think I need to get back to training Naruko," said Keri after a moment of silence.

"Ah," said Hinata.

Keri considered asking Hinata if she knew what it meant to sign her name to a document like she had.

Well, it wasn't as if anything had to come of it.

* * *

><p>Kabuto was easily able to slip through Konoha's defenses again, having spent enough time with Root to know those deliberate flaws and how to exploit them.<p>

After establishing an alibi, he was quick to catch up on a few things before planning the next day's outing.

The golf course had been closed recently due to excessive damage to the little area by some ninja who'd mistaken the area for a training ground. There would be at least one, and more likely two, D-Rank missions involved with fixing it.

Which would just happen to be assigned to him. Easily enough arranged, unless Iruka was the one doing the sorting but that particular chunin would be moving back to full-time teaching soon enough.

Then Kabuto knew he'd be able to better explore that area and determine what had awakened the Uzumaki's bloodline.

* * *

><p>"Interesting location," said Jiraiya, dropping down off the dragon's back.<p>

"Sufficient for our purposes," said Keri with a rumble as she remained in her smaller dragonform. "You'll be safe there. Naruto. We're going to work on your draconic skills. Kindly make a shadow clone to train with Jiraiya."

"What kind of dragon skills?" asked Naruto as he made a human shadow clone.

"Remember that he can't use anything in the one-on-one that covers too much area," called out Jiraiya before the two could leave. "Likewise anything that causes too much destruction to the stadium itself."

"Yes, that DOES limit things a bit," admitted Keri. "A pity that, as learning the Wing Scythe with his Wind Affinity would be a nice way of supplementing his ranged attacks. Though the scroll described it as being a variant of a 'Kijin Raijuu Dan' - whatever that is supposed to be."

"'Demon God Multiple Strike'?" asked Jiraiya.

_Hmmm?_ asked the Kyubi, sensing something interesting but not able to tell what and not having anyone around to ask about it.

"That sounds dangerous," said Jiraiya. "As long as it is more dangerous to one's enemies than one's allies - that might be something to take up later."

"Today we're dealing with the focus needed to reinforce one's durability," said Keri. "It's an important step before reinforcing one's senses - which is more difficult and requires more control than you possess."

"While I'm starting him training on water walking to build his control up," said Jiraiya. "Besides, yesterday I found the perfect weapon for him to work with."

"Oh?" asked Keri, interested.

Jiraiya unsealed a scroll and let a chain begin spooling on the ground. "Naruto, if your control on water-walking and tree-climbing let you stick to surfaces with enough strength - imagine grabbing someone with a chain and pulling them in."

"I'm dubious," admitted Keri. "I can see so many things going wrong with that."

"Well, yeah," admitted Jiraiya. "But he needs something for hitting opponents at a distance. Also a controlled area effect. He's going up against an Aburame right off the bat - so clouds of parasitic insects."

"I don't want to kill the guy," pointed out Naruto. "This is just for a promotion, you know."

"And he's one of your girlfriend's team-mates, I noticed." Jiraiya nodded at his own comment. Very important point to consider.

"Huh?" asked Naruto.

"Hinata is a nice girl, but she has yet to make any definitive move in that regard," noted Keri. "Even if she did sign a contract that would allow someone of our clan to summon her."

"Huh?" asked Naruto again. "Why would she do that?"

"It was labelled a 'dragon summoning scroll'," said Keri. "However, it is for a dragon to summon a human and not the other way around."

"Still potentially useful to both," said Jiraiya. "If she's injured and away from the village - if she or a team-mate is away on a mission you could summon her back. With warning she could be summoned right into the hospital."

* * *

><p>"Uhm. Hinata?"<p>

"Yes, father?"

Hiashi Hyuga glanced up at the ceiling to confirm what he had thought he saw. Finally he decided to just go ahead with it and accept that what had just happened was real. "There is no such thing as a 'Dragon Rising Uppercut' in the Jyuuken style."

"My foot slipped."

"Your 'foot slipped'?" Hiashi considered all the things wrong with that simple excuse.

Hanabi, whose head was imbedded in the ceiling, continued to hang there like some macabre chandelier. Hiashi could see she was still breathing, and that Hinata's little sister was about as thoroughly unconscious as it was possible to get without drugs or a coma being involved.

Hiashi considered what he'd seen of their spar and finally nodded. If he was more talkative or demonstrative, he would have said something about how it was nice that she had overcome some of that hesitation finally. Or he would have said that Hanabi trash-talking Hinata's friend Uzumaki was a tactical mistake. Or he possibly would have considered saying something to the effect of how it was supposed to be the Gentle Fist style.

He wasn't though, so he went with: "Don't introduce new moves until you have mastered the style."

* * *

><p>"Know your enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster." That was a saying of the samurai in Land of Iron, but ninja knew of the concept. Though it was more common to say "Surprises Are The Leading Cause Of Mission Failure" or something along those lines.<p>

As their insect hives were agitated by hormonal fluxuations and excessive emotion, logic and reason were things that the Aburame clan tended to focus on. Having good intel was something they valued.

Problem #1: The parasitic insects did NOT like the Hiryu shrine grounds. They grew agitated and tended to gather close to him even when he'd sent them out. Speaking with his parents, the problem was not limited to himself. Not that areas such as this were unknown - just about anywhere the giant toads frequented made the hives stick closer to shelter.

Problem #2: S-Class secrets. Much of the Uzumaki Clan was classified. Some could be ferreted out fairly easy, such as the name of Naruto's mother being considered a C-Class secret. So the Red Hot Habanero had displayed some small measure of the toughness and strength of her son, plus a temper that was well remembered by those who'd shared classes or missions with her.

There was something else though that he uncovered during that investigation, something a bit more alarming that he took to his father. A pattern had turned up, of accidents and mishaps and other things. Though initial investigations of all had not triggered any further investigation, the sheer number of those accidents was concerning. That the civilian population involved had even higher mortality rates than those ninja was an indication of concern.

Those who knew Kushina Uzumaki tended to die, meet crippling accidents, or move away from the village under what seemed inadequate circumstance. That this had mostly erased that kunoichi's history with the village would not be a concern if she had been noted as reclusive or unfriendly - but by all surviving accounts she was quite outgoing among friends.

Shino Aburame had taken this data to his father, who had called in a couple of clan members and they had discussed this in Aburame fashion. Calmly, logically, and without excessive and unwanted emotion. That two members of the Aburame clan had associated with Kushina Uzumaki and both died within two years of each other was noted as merely another piece of data.

That Naruto Uzumaki was shunned by his peers, with many parents apparently inclined to warn their children away from the child - this was noted by Shino. His father informed him that this was another S-Class secret and that he should avoid going further along that path, but that it was also unrelated to the deaths. In the case of the two Aburame deaths, one had been by drowning and the other by an unbalanced crate falling in a warehouse.

Shino continued to investigate and found that there were a few shopkeepers who had refused service to Keri Uzumaki because of her relation to Naruto Uzumaki. Apparently Keri had a similarity to Kushina beyond the red hair because at one point she had been ignored and corrected that attitude by grabbing a shoulder and applying pressure in a direct and straightforward manner.

However, Keri Uzumaki was a civilian and there was little data he could uncover from that angle due to her recent appearance. Though apparently she had shown great knowledge of sealing techniques and fought a jonin nearly to a draw.

While his father took over the investigation into the odd pattern of deaths, Shino came to the third problem involving his attempts at gathering intelligence.

Problem #3: There were toads involved. Toads being insectivores capable of truly prodigous appetites. Naruto was being trained by Jiraiya, one of the Sannin and also the holder of the summoning contract for toads. While having more than one summoning contract was rare, it wasn't impossible. The most recent example being a Jaku Kirubi, Leaf jonin, who had FOUR summons but had died several years back during the war with Iwagakure. So it was possible that he would be facing someone who would be able to summon toads.

That would be most unfortunate indeed.

* * *

><p>Kabuto went past the cordon, only pausing to nod at a member of ROOT who knew him and who then waved him on.<p>

It was odd that there was so much trust among the ROOT, which was itself a black-ops secret division loyal to someone who was himself the head of a faction opposed to the policies of the head government. However, Kabuto reflected that this was because of Danzo himself. After all, the whole 'never question my orders' and 'secrets within secrets' attitudes within ROOT made it so that anyone in ROOT was both suspicious of everyone and also accepting that any given thing going on was probably one of Danzo's Xanatos Gambits going on.

Xanatos apparently being the name of an old ninja from Cloud, at least that was what he'd been able to find when his curiosity had been piqued.

Finally he stood at the edge of some rent in the ground. Stooping to examine the edges determined that the ground had collapsed inward here, and that there had been perhaps three feet of natural dirt and grass over a rock "chimney" - possibly some natural cavern.

Peering briefly into the darkness, Kabuto Yakushi briefly considered just moving on. There was the possibility of the old Uzumaki bloodline awakening further due to a prolonged fall. Death tended to be a bit more swift and surprising for ninja, and a long fall with an extended adrenalin rush might provide the amount of time for a latent aspect of a bloodline to come forward.

* * *

><p>The volcanic chimney was as roughly formed as any such natural thing, though something had apparently widened parts that had once been narrower.<p>

Kabuto estimated that he was a bit over 600feet down when it opened up into a cavern.

The cavern floor was another three hundred feet further down by his estimate. The size of the cavern was also huge, with him unable to hit the far wall with a kunai when he threw it in the dark.

He'd known it would likely be dark in here since scouting out the location earlier, and part of the time in between had been to acquire a few things.

A stick of waxy substance was ignited and allowed for a brilliant if red-tinted light to be emitted, tossing it a bit away from him allowed him to better see the cavern.

The walls were of polished obsidian as near as he could tell. Clearly shaped by other than natural forces.

"Ahem."

Kabuto did NOT twitch, nor throw an attack at the clearing of a throat behind him in the darkness. He simply put on his "innocent little genin" face and turned towards the noise.

Two ANBU masks almost seemed to float in the air for a moment. Without showing anything on his face, Kabuto tried to place the two.

"Ferret. Mouse."

The two masks paused and then went to the side.

Kabuto just kept his own figurative mask going as he recognized the voice, and now knew the two operatives. He was pretty sure that if it came down to it - he could kill the two ANBU as long as he had a moment of surprise.

Asuma Sarutobi, on the other hand, was decidedly deadly in close quarters.

"What brings a genin down here into a restricted area?" asked Asuma.

"Looking for golf balls," answered Kabuto, indicating the bucket he'd brought along with him for just such a cover.

Asuma looked VERY skeptical, especially in the reddish glow of the flare.

"What are YOU doing down here?" asked Kabuto. "In the dark with two ANBU?"

"Checking out some of the writing," said Asuma after considering the genin for a few moments.

"'Writing'?" asked Kabuto, looking at the walls again. "What writing?"

* * *

><p>"Definitely something up with the kid, he clearly wasn't able to even see the writing," said Asuma, an hour later. "I had covered the crystals to check out different lighting and see if anything else popped up, so it was completely dark except for the light this genin brought with him. Just that he brought it meant he was up to something. No idea what though."<p>

"Ferret keeping an eye on him?" asked Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Yeah," said Asuma. "What is it with that writing though?"

"Were you able to make out any of it?" asked Hiruzen.

"No, the letters weren't in any of the four languages I've been exposed to," admitted Asuma. "Mouse is familiar with seven though and thought some of it looked like a dead language she's studied when in Cryptography. Not quite the same but it 'looked similar' or something like that."

"I'll await for her report then," said Hiruzen Sarutobi.

* * *

><p>"Ouch."<p>

"Perhaps, Lady Hanabi, adopting your cousin Neji's tactics of verbal assault prior to a match was not well-considered."

Hanabi blinked a few times, finally making out one of the older Branch family members. "What? What happened?"

"What do you remember, Lady Hanabi?" asked the Branch member, putting the damp washcloth to the side.

* * *

><p><em>Flashback:<em>

Hanabi looked over her sister. Who didn't seem as nervous as usual. Distracted somewhat though.

_I wonder if this works as well for me as it did for that Branch member._

"You might as well give up now, you've never beaten me. There's really no purpose in me sparring with you - a wooden post is at least as much a challenge."

"Eh?" asked Hinata, losing a bit of that distraction.

Hanabi glanced at her father, who had raised an eyebrow but otherwise made no motion. Since there had been no indication she should stop, Hanabi continued. "What little improvement you may have had is entirely from associating with that minor clan. As Hyuga we shouldn't associate with such riff-raff."

"The Uzumaki clan is not 'riff-raff'," said Hinata.

"A priestess, a sword student, and a failure of a genin," said Hanabi, pressing as she'd heard a note of irritation in Hinata's voice. "Not a real ninja among them. Pathetic. Father should simply forbid your association with such. Weakness can only reinforce weakness."

Their father finally stirred. "Begin."

Hanabi smirked, sure that she would-

* * *

><p>"I don't remember much," muttered Hanabi, rubbing her sore jaw. She glanced up to try and recall details and noticed the hole in the ceiling. "When did that happen?"<p>

"Hinata went through your defenses and knocked you into the ceiling, Lady Hanabi," softly said the Branch family member.

"No. That's impossible," said Hanabi softly.

"As you say, Lady Hanabi," said the Branch member. "If you have recovered sufficiently, I have other tasks to do."

"Hmmm," agreed Hanabi, dismissing the servant. It was odd, perhaps she should see about getting some of that pain-killer tea. It seemed she had a bit of a headache from something.

* * *

><p>Jiraiya dodged. Naruto had a lot of strength, stamina, and durability. What he did NOT have was a great deal of speed and accuracy.<p>

It was kind of like when Tsunade had indulged too much and was angry while being nearly immobile from drinking. Her technique was so well-practiced that she could use it in that state, but her coordination went into the crapper. The result was usually a pretty much destroyed environment.

Tightening up Naruto's taijutsu skills would increase his sheer deadliness in melee, which was where his strengths were.

"Remember - this is sparring. Everything is real except the last six inches," reminded Jiraiya.

"I thought it was the last foot," said Naruto as he tried to axe-kick, missed, and put another three foot deep crater in the landscape.

"Well, in your case that would be playing it more safe," admitted Jiraiya. "Okay, stop."

"Eh? Tired already?" asked Naruto, still ready to go.

"No, I just don't think this is working," said Jiraiya. "I can make corrections to your stance, point out the flaws in your attacks and blocks, but the ridiculous amount of power in your strikes makes some aspects of this training more ridiculous. I have to come up with a different angle. In the meantime, let's see how your ninjutsu is coming. Now, your Aunt said that you don't use hand-seals so much - that your manipulation of chakra is mainly internal and instinctive nowadays."

"Yeah, that's pretty much right, I guess," admitted Naruto.

"Let's see you do a Rasengan," said Jiraiya.

Naruto tried to form one in his hand. Then he sneezed and sent a shrieking globe of _something_ out into the trees. Where it exploded.

"Okay," said Jiraiya as the sound of trees, tree limbs, squirrel bits, and other shredded debris finally ended. "Let's put that as a partial success. Wind-chakra enhanced Rasengan at range, check. Aim, not so check. Timing, also not check. Do you know what to work on?"

"Yeah!" said Naruto.

"And that is?" prompted Jiraiya.

"A cool name for the technique!" said Naruto.

Jiraiya sighed, went into the shredded section of wood, picked up a hefty branch, and gazed thoughtfully back at Naruto.

"Timing and aim?" asked Naruto.

Jiraiya nodded and dropped the stick.

The impending lesson-by-stick reminded Naruto of Sakura, making him wonder how she was doing.

* * *

><p>"Mmmmm. Sasuke. Mine. All mine. Ooh. Marshmallows."<p>

"You know, she's thirteen. Having a dream about her boyfriend and marshmallows just strikes me as seriously wrong."

The head nurse glanced at the younger one. "Trust me. It could be worse. It could be a lot worse. You personally will SEE worse."

"How much worse could it be?" asked the younger nurse.

"This is probably relatively innocent," said the head nurse. "Don't forget she's a kunoichi and those usually have to take a couple of classes in the Academy regarding seduction techniques, what to do when you've been captured by the enemy, and proper hygiene in the field. Also infiltration. So this is probably quite innocent for a kunoichi."

* * *

><p>"Why do I have to sign in blood?" asked Naruto.<p>

"Because all high-level summoning contracts are signed in blood and require blood to activate," answered Jiraiya.

"But why blood? I know the chakra is to make it run, but the hand-signs and words to put the chakra into the right form," noted Naruto. "It's the only thing I've seen that requires blood for the jutsu to work."

"That's," began Jiraiya, who then got a thoughtful expression and cocked his head. He was silent for a minute. "It could be that it's a limiting factor. You can't have a shadow clone or something similar do a summoning because of the need for freshly spilled blood. It could be an identifier since the blood contains DNA and such."

"You're guessing?" asked Naruto.

"I've never really thought about it," said Jiraiya, rubbing his chin. "I know that blood-rituals are old. Very old. Most of which apparently do nothing. Unfortunately, as they are very old - there are only scraps of references. Fuuinjutsu is the only surviving art that incorporates it. At least that I've run across it."

"Huh," said Naruto.

"Well, if you sign, we can get reverse-summoned to Toad Mountain and ask there if you're still curious," said Jiraiya. "Pa Toad is likely to know. Or know where we can find the answer at least."

"'Pa Toad'?" asked Naruto.

* * *

><p>"The Hiryu Shrine is a recent addition to Konohagakure," said the chunin, pointing to the map. "The main entries are here in the East and in the North. There is a short wall that covers approaches from the South and West but this could be easily leapt over. A small wooded area covers the slope of the hill, and then the complex is atop that hill. Two small yards, one set up for sword practice. Three buildings. The residence. The shrine itself. A storage shed though there is a stairway going underneath it that one of our kunoichi found."<p>

"Would that be the one that was screaming about 'too many angles' and how 'the devouring dark'?" asked one of the genin.

"Just an indication of how weak Kin's mind must have been," said the chunin.

"I thought the initial plan was to avoid going in there," said another genin, this one older and scarred on every inch of visible skin.

"That was then, this is now," said the chunin. "Any complaints - you should go straight to Lord Orochimaru and make the complaint directly."

"Yeah," said one of the younger genin. "I don't see that happening."

"You three squads will be tasked with eliminating the personnel at the shrine itself. Do NOT go from the normal paths, they're warded to detect intruders. The public paths are not. Go for quick, silent, no warning strikes. Don't give anyone a chance to tell anything is wrong until you've already hit them. Poisoned weapons and some special devices you'll be issued ahead of time. After you've hit - do not linger even to confirm kills. Use fire bombs and turn the shrine into a funeral pyre." The chunin looked over the group. "I do not know why Lord Orochimaru focuses so much attention on this little shrine - but one doesn't question Lord Orochimaru for trivial reasons."

* * *

><p>"I really appreciate this, Tenten," said Keri.<p>

"No problem, I could use someone to spar against besides my own team," said Tenten.

"Thank you," said Naruko, sliding into a ready stance.

"Begin," said Keri.

Tenten moved first, her sword sweeping out behind her and to the side as she darted forward.

Naruko settled down, knees loose as she tried to anticipate the next move.

Tenten came down slightly harder, and twisted just outside of the reach of Naruko's sword. Naruko pivoted, keeping her opponent in sight.

Wooden blade met wooden blade, Tenten's jiang-style practice blade meeting Naruko's bokuto and was deflected to the side. Tenten then used the sword in her other hand, switching it from defense to offense even before the first move had completed.

Naruko ducked under and brought her blade into position for a two-handed upward strike.

Tenten shifted backwards, prepared to dodge.

Keri nodded and went about her duties as shrine priestess. It appeared those two were fine on their own.

* * *

><p>"Ung."<p>

"So this is the fresh meat?"

"Special Jonin Mitarashi, can you not refer to my patient in such terms?"

"This is her chart? Huh. Rated above average on chakra control and barely above civilian on chakra. This right?"

"Yes, and that's probably lower than normal for her. She's still recovering but use of the seal nearly killed her from chakra depletion."

"I heard she lasted less than five minutes. That accurate?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"So my soon-to-be-victim here is gonna have to-"

"Mitarashi-san. She's unconscious. Can you leave the 'degenerate bloodthirsty kunoichi' role for a bit?"

"You think it's an act?"

"Well, yes. To an extent. I don't know how much of it is an act. Probably very useful in the field."

Anko Mitarashi regarded the short balding doctor for a brief moment, her face showing a complete lack of expression that would have surprised a few people who thought they knew her. "Doctor. Even I don't know how much of it is an act anymore. Someplace secure here?"

"There's a tearoom we also use for counseling. It is routinely used for debriefings in an informal setting and T&I sweeps it at least twice a week."

Anko nodded. "Good choice. Know it. And I could definitely use the tea. Bring what information you've got on her."

* * *

><p>Naruto concentrated. Forming a ball of chakra was difficult. Trying to keep other elements OUT was proving to be a problem. It <em>felt<em> weird.

"ACHOO!"

"You really need to work on that," noted Jiraiya.

"I can't help it, it's like it tickles something in my throat," complained Naruto.

"Maybe not in dragon-form?" asked Jiraiya.

"I'll try, I guess," said Naruto.

"There is no guess, only try," said Jiraiya. "Hmmm. That almost sounded right. Maybe if I work it around some I can use that."

"What - you're trying lines out on me to write about later?" asked Naruto, frowning at this sign of inattention.

"I'm a high level ninja, a spy, and a world-class pervert," said Jiraiya. "As an author though - I am constantly working to hone my craft."

"If you'd left out the bit about being a 'pervert' that almost might have sounded wise," pointed out Naruto.

"Hmmm. Good point," admitted Jiraiya.

"It is?" asked Naruto, surprised that the old man would admit it.

"Oh yes, you'll learn as you go along that it isn't just you and your 'Aunt' who wear masks in the ninja world," said Jiraiya with a shrug. "And some people wear the mask for so long that they actually become the mask."

"I don't understand that," said Naruto.

"In this line of business, you will," said Jiraiya. "Now. Let's switch to trying the summoning jutsu. If nothing else, it'll make it easier to slip away from Konoha to practice in dragon form."

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

_B-domf!_

A tiny orange toad wearing a vest appeared. "Jiraiya. Yo! You summon me for a reason?"

"I didn't summon you, he did," said Jiraiya.

"He?" asked Gamakichi, turning and looking.

"Hello," said Naruto.

"Dude, you're teaching lizards how to summon toads?" asked Gamakichi of Jiraiya.

"Not a lizard, oh yeah, I was supposed to do this," grumbled Naruto as he shifted to human form.

"Much better, though you're not as big as my dad when you're all scaly and such," noted Gamakichi.

"What we want to do is a reverse-summon so that Naruto can use the fields near Toad Mountain in order to train his more destructive jutsu," explained Jiraiya.

* * *

><p>Author Notes: Due to problems at the Anime Addventure, where i write the initial version of these stories - there's been problems trying to update stories.<p>

As a result this one is going on hiatus as i use an HTML editor and try to write directly for this fanfic site instead of updating on a queue over there.

It's been several months at this point, and with the trolls over there not helping, it's probably best to just try something like this.

Unless someone else contacts me about taking the story over, this one will probably be a very long time before any updates.

Sorry for the inconvenience.


End file.
